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Brit^ham  Youna  University 

Harold  B.  Lee  Library 


Gift  of 
Copley  Walker 


^)^ 


•  Lll 


LABORS 


IN  THE 


VINEYARD 


TWELFTH  BOOK   OF  THE 


FjlITH-PI|^]MOT[f  SE[[IES 


Designed    for  the    Instruction  and    Encouragement  of 
Young   Latter-day   Saints. 


Published  at  the  Juvenile  Instructor  Office, 
salt   lake  city,  utah. 

1884. 


HAROLD  8.  LEE  LIBRARY 

BRIQHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 

PftOVO,  UT/"  H 


PREFACE. 


THE  constantly  increasing  demand  for  the  books  of  the 
Faith-Promoting  Series  has  induced  us  to  prepare  this 
Httle  work,  with  the  hope  that  it  will  prove  no  less  interesting  nor 
instructive  than  its  predecessors.  The  fact  that  these  publica- 
tions are  used  in  many  Sunday  schools  with  most  excellent 
results  and  are  read  with  avidity  and  interest  by  the  young 
people  in  all  parts  of  the  territory,  is  an  evidence  to  us  that 
our  labors  are  not  in  vain. 

Some  of  the  incidents  narrated  in  this  book  are  so  miraculous 
that  one  is  naturally  led  to  exclaim,  '  'truth  is  really  stranger 
than  fiction ;"  and  occurring,  as  they  have  done,  in  the  experi- 
ence of  our  faithful  Elders,  they  have  a  double  interest  for 
young  Latter-day  Saints,  and  will  surely  be  the  means  of 
strengthening  the  faith  of  all  those  who  expect  to  participate 
in  the  glorious  labors  that  devolve  upon  this  people.  Such 
examples,  too,  as  are  herein  presented  will,  undoubtedly,  hav  e 
the  effect  to  instil  a  proper  amount  of  righteous  ambition  into 
the  minds  of  the  young,  thus  causing  them  to  exercise  talents 
which  are  designed,  if  properly  used,  to  make  of  them  noble 
men  and  women. 

If  this  book  should  be  a  means  of  instructing  or  encouraging 
any  person,  and  thereby  prompting  him  to  do  good,  the  object 
for  which  it  was  prepared  will  have  been  attained,  and  a  reward 
will  have  been  given  to 

The  Publisher. 


CONTENTS: 


MY    EXPERIENCE    IN    ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Called  on  a  Mission— Start  for  my  Field  of  Labor— Difficulties 
on  the  Way— Traveling  in  Deep  Snow— Reach  the  Platte 
River — Procure  a  New  Outfit— Exposed  to  the  Cholera — 
Attacked  by  the  Plague — My  Recovery — Arrival  at  Albany, 
N.  Y. — Take  Passage  on  a  Steamer  for  New  York  City — 
Incidents  on  the  Way.  Page  9. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Set  Sail  from  New  York — Arrive  in  Liverpool — Sent  to  Labor 
as  a  Traveling  Elder — Prayers  Answered — Called  to  Preside 
Over  a  Conference — Blessed  Abundantly  with  the  Holy 
Spirit — Procure  a  Hall  to  Preach  in  — Mobbed — Effects  of 
my  Preaching — Treated  with  Courtesy — Organize  a  Branch 
of  the  Church  in  the  Town  where  I  was  Mobbed — Make 
Another  Appointment  to  Preach  in  a  Different  Town — 
Send  for  Help — Speakers  Interrupted — Audience  Quieted 
by  me  Singing  a  Comic  Song— Prejudice  Allayed— a  Les- 
son Learned.  Page  15. 

CHAPTER  III. 

An  Amusing  Episode— Obtain  the  Keys  of  a  Church—  Notify 
the  People  That  a  Meeting  Will  be  Held  in  it— A  Good 
Turn-Out — My  Companion  Preaches  while  I,  Disguised 
as  a  Police,  Guard  the  Door— Excitement  Aroused — 
Controversy  With  a  Minister — An  Anti- "Mormon"  Meet- 
ing Held— I  Attend— Reply  to  the  Ministers'  Attempts 
to  Expose  "Mormonism" — My  Escape  from  the  Building 


CONTENTS. 


—Saved  by  an  Infidel— Prosperity  of  the  Work— Remark- 
able Healings— A  Prediction  Uttered  and  Fulfilled— My 
Return  Home — Contrast  Between  the  Condition  of  the 
Saints  now  and  that  of  Thirty  Years  Ago.        Page  21. 


MY    SWISS    MISSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Manner  in  which  the  Gospel  is    Preached — My  Labors  in 
England — Called  to  Switzerland — Join  my  Companion  and 
Take  Passage  to  France — Proceed  to  Switzerland — Meet 
Elders  in  Geneva — Our  Fields  of  Labor  Assigned  us. 

Page  29. 

CHAPTER  II. 
Arrival  in  Berne — Its  Principal  Objects  of  Interest — Go  to 
Weiningen,  Where  I  Remain  to  Study  German — Sketch 
From   my  Journal — Hunted  by    Mobs — Interviewed    by 
the  Mayor.  Page  35. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Letter  from  Elder  Secrist — Ordered  to  Zurich — Arrested 
and  Imprisoned  in  a  Filthy  Dungeon —  Taken  to  Better 
Quarters — Released.  Page  42. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Progress  in  Learning  to  Speak  German — Communication 
From  the  British  Ambassador — Notified  to  Leave  Zurich 
— Go  to  Schaffhausen — The  Falls  of  the  Rhine — Unable 
to  Obtain  Permission  to  Remain  in  the  Canton — Seek 
Another  Place  of  Retreat — Lodge  with  a  Family  of  Saints 
— Difficulty  in  Keeping  Secluded— Called  to  Geneva — 
Return  to  England.  Page  51. 

THE     FAITH     OF    THE     ZUNIS. 


Traditions  of  the  Zunis— Three  Children  Healed —  Administer 
to  406  Indians  who  were  Attacked  with  the  Small- Pox, 
Most  of  Whom  Recover — Opposed  by  a  Presbvteiian 
Minister  and  Others — Fate  of  my  Opposers.     Page  Gl. 


CONTENTS.  ^il 


SKETCH    OF    A    WELL-SPENT    LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

My  Birth  and  Childhood— Embrace  the  Gospel— a  Vision— 
G-ather  with  the  Saints  at  Kirtland— Zion's  Camp- 
Manifestations  in  the  Temple — The  Saints  Driven  from 
Missouri — The  Prophet  and  Patriarch  Martyred— Our 
Journey  Westward — Sent  on  a  Mission.  Page  G5. 

CHAPTER  IL 

Arrival  in  England — Appointed  to  the  Glasgow  Conference — 
My  Experience  There — Released — Start  Home— a  Storm 
at  Sea— Case  of  Miraculous  Healing— Arrival  in  the  Valley. 

Page  71. 

THE    LORD'S    BLESSINGS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Called  to  Australia — My  Ignorance — Pres.  H.  C.  Kimball's 
Prophecy  Concerning  me — Arrive  in  Sidney — Adventure 
with  a  Dog— Go  to  Camden  with  a  Fellow-Missionary — 
Sought  for  by  a  Drunken  Mob — God  Blinds  their  Eyes 
and  we  Escape — At  Picton  we  Preach  in  the  Court- House 
— The  Writing  on  the  Wall — Our  Success.        Page  75. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Maligned  by  Sectarian  Priests — Invitation  to  Preach  at  a 
Distant  Town — Means  Provided  by  a  Mysterious  Personage 
— Branch  of  the  Church  Organized — Apply  to  the 
Authorities  of  the  Colony  for,  and  Receive,  License  and 
Protection  as  Ministers  of  the  Gospel — Arrested — My 
Companion's  Defense — Honorably  Released — Go  to  Wind- 
sor— Unable  to  Obtain  Lodgings — Directed  by  a  Stranger 
— Kindly  Treated — An  Attempt  to  Poison 'me — My  Com- 
panion Shot  at  by  a  Ruffian.  Page  80. 

CHAPTER  III. 
A  Chat  With  a  Catholic — Chased  by  Dogs — An  Irishman's 
Design  to  Murder  me — Remarkable  Escape — Adventure 
with  a  Wild  Bull— "Has  he  got  You  ?"— My  Release 


CONTENTS. 


from  my  Mission — Incidents  of  the  Home  Jouraey — A 
Prophecy  and  its  Fulfillment — A  Visit  to  a  Sick  Lady — 
Conclusion.  Page  87. 

RESULTS    OF    DISOBEDIENCE. 


How  our  Missionaries  are  Suspected — Children  Lost— Sup- 
posed Case  of  Kidnapping — Myself  and  Companion  are 
accused — The  Dead  Bodies  are  Found— Disobedience 
Brings  its  own  Reward.  Page  93. 


MY  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND. 


BY  C.    V.    SPENCER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CALLED  ON  A  MISSION— START  FOR  MY  FIELD  OF  LABOR- 
DIFFICULTIES  ON  THE  WAY— TRAVELING  IN  DEEP  SNOW- 
REACH  THE  PLATTE  RIVER— PROCURE  A  NEW  OUTFIT — 
EXPOSED  TO  THE  CHOLERA — ATTACKED  BY  THE  PLAGUE — 
MY  RECOVERY — ARRIVAL  AT  ALBANY,  N.  Y. — TAKE  PAS- 
SAGE ON  A  STEAMER  FOR  NEW  YORK  CITY— INCIDENTS 
ON  THE  WAY. 

AT  the  April  conference,  1850,  I  felt  a  presentiment  that  I 
might  be  called  on  a  mission,  and  kept  away  from  confer- 
ence until  near  the  close  of  the  last  afternoon's  meeting,  think- 
ing that  if  I  were  not  seen,  I  should,  perhaps,  not  be  remem- 
bered, and  then  went  to  the  door,  and  standing  on  the  outside 
pressed  it  open  about  two  inches.  Just  as  I  did  this  a  man 
arose  on  the  stand  and  said,  "It  is  moved  and  seconded  that 
Claudius  V.  Spencer  go  on  a  mission  to  Europe."  I  turned  as 
though  shot,  walked  down  Main  Street  saying  to  myself, 
"Can  it  be  possible  those  men  have  any  inspiration  to  call  such 
a  stick  for  a  missionary?"  I  think  if  my  body  and  spirit  had 
then  been  weighed  together,  I  should  have  pulled  the  beam  at 
two  thousand  pounds. 

Previous  to  this  time  no  person  had  heard  me  pray  or  speak 
in  any  public  meeting. 

Most  of  the  men  who  were  called  and  who  accompanied  this 
mission  were  large  and  powerful  men,  physically.  Among 
them  were  the  father  of  Horace  S.  Eldredge,  Appleton  Har- 
mon, James  Works,  Thomas  Grover,  Captain  Davis  and 
Father  Malin.  Heber  C.  Kimball  had  charge  when  we  were 
set  apart  and  was   mouth  in   my  case,  giving  me  a  blessing 


10  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

greater  than  my  faith.  Amongother  things  he  said  that,  I 
should  be  like  Paul  of  old,  in  the  land  to  which  I  was  going. 

The  most  of  the  company  left  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  19th  of 
April,  and  those  who  did  not  go  then  overtook  us  the  next 
morning.  We  carried  the  mail  by  express  with  ox  teams, 
and  delivered  it  at  Council  Bluffs  on  the  4th  of  July  fullowing. 

At  the  time  we  were  set  apart  Brother  Heber  forbid  us 
taking  either  money,  watches,  rings  or  chains  of  gold  or  silver, 
but  told  us  to  go  literally  without  purse  or  scrip.  For  the 
benefit  of  the  missionaries  who  now  go  by  rail  and  frequently 
in  first-class  style,  I  record  that  the  first  day  out  we  reached  the 
mouth  of  Emigration  Canyon,  and  that  night  had  a  severe 
snow  storm.  The  next  morning  our  cattle  were  all  lost.  We 
divided  into  parties  to  find  them.  The  party  with  which  I 
went  trailed  some  of  the  cattle  towards  the  city.  They  wished 
me  to  go  in,  see  the  folks  and  help  get  the  cattle  back.  I  said, 
"No,  I  will  never  enter  Salt  Lake  again  till  I  have  fulfilled  my 
mission,  unless  I  am  carried  in  dead." 

After  some  little  trouble  we  again  got  our  cattle  together. 
The  snow  in  crossing  the  "Big  and  Little  Mountain"  was  very 
deep :  we  cut  a  pole  twenty-seven  and  a  half  feet  long,  pushed 
it  into  the  snow,  but  failed  to  reach  the  ground.  We  cut  poles 
made  holes  in  them  for  the  wheels  of  the  wagon,  bent  one  end 
of  the  poles  in  the  shape  of  a  sleigh- runner,  and  pulled  and 
pushed  our  wagons  in  places  by  hand.  We  would  frequently 
sink  into  the  snow  almost  to  our  necks,  and  after  crawling  out 
the  sun  would  melt  the  snow  on  our  clothes  so  that  at  night  we 
were  as  wet  as  though  we  had  been  immersed  in  the  water.  In 
the  mornings  we  stood  on  the  snow  crusts,  beat  our  boots  and 
pantaloons  over  the  wagon  wheels  to  get  the  ice  out  of  them 
before  we  could  dress.  We  took  our  stockings  to  bed  with  us 
and  dried  them  among  our  clothes.  It  was  in  the  endurance 
of  these  exposures  that  I  think  Elder  Wm.  Burton  (who  was 
very  noble  and  free  in  his  labors)  so  weakened  his  constitution 
as  to  make  him  unable  to  successfully  stand  the  climate  and 
disease  that  preyed  upon  him  in  the  old  country. 

One  night,  in  East  Canyon,  we  dug  a  hole  in  the  snow  seven 
feet  deep,  pat  some  brush  on  the  bottom  and  had  a  good  night's 
rest.     We  were  favored  before  morning  with  quite  a  fall  of 


MV  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  11 

snow,  which  helped  to  keep  us  warm.  When  we  arose  in  the 
morning  we  were  quite  merry,  and  several  commenced  singing 
the  songs  of  Zion.  Captain  Davis  and  Thomas  Grover  were 
camped  a  little  ahead  of  us,  and  as  we  went  over  to  the  latter's 
wagon  he  remarked,  "Missionaries  who  can  sing  in  such  a 
condition  I  want  to  give  my  purse  to,"  and  he  handed  us  one 
containing  $23.45. 

For  days  on  this  journey,  from  a  sun-rise  start  to  a  sun-set 
stop,  we  only  made  from  one-half  to  one  mile's  distance,  fre- 
quently putting  five  and  six  yoke  of  oxen  to  a  wagon  at  a  time. 
The  food  our  cattle  had  was  brouse  and  dry  grass  on  the  ridges 
where  the  snow  had  blown  off. 

We  reached  the  Platte  River  about  three  o'clock,  p  m.,  on 
Saturday,  May  25th,  with  our  cattle  so  weak  and  poor  that  we 
drove  several  of  them  loose  and  pulled  two  wagons  into  camp 
by  hand.  After  lunch  we  had  a  fellowship  meeting.  I  made 
a  motion  that  when  we  left  that  camping  place  we  should  have 
good,  light  wagons,  with  four  horses  to  each  one,  plenty  of 
food,  and  "a  white  man's  outfit."  After  considerable  discus- 
sion the  motion  was  unanimously  carried,  and  with  considerable 
sarcasm  I  was  appointed  trader-in-chief  to  make  the  desired 
exchanges.  Several  California  emigrants  were  present  at  the 
meeting  and  before  night,  they  had  donated  a  nice  wagon,  a 
new  set  of  double  harness,  a  horse,  some  rice,  sugar,  dried 
apples,  etc.  In  a  few  days  I  succeeded  in  exchanging  our  old 
out-fits  for  fine,  fat  horses,  and  everything  needful  for  a  com- 
fortable journey.  We  put  a  sign  on  one  of  our  wagons 
"U.  S.  Mail,"  and  received  considerable  money  for  drop 
letters. 

In  crossing  the  plains  we  met  the  cholera  among  the  gold 
diggers,  who  were  on  their  way  to  California.  We  frequently 
had  to  leave  the  road  to  avoid  the  stench  of  those  who  had 
died  by  its  ravages,  and  were  but  slightly  covered  over  by  their 
comrades.  At  one  time  I  saw  a  man  beating  his  cattle  with 
the  butt  of  his  whip,  cursing  loudly  at  the  same  time;  he 
dropped  on  the  ground  in  the  act  and  in  about  fifteen  minutes 
was  dead  and  buried.  One  evening  Captain  Davis  was  attacked 
with  the  terrible  disease  and  in  a  short  time  was  dead.     The 


12  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

day  following  I  was  taken  with  it  about  noon,  just  as  we  were 
about  to  turn  down  to  the  Platte  River  to  lunch.  My  brethren 
gave  me  all  encouragement,  saying  they  would  hurry  to  the 
river,  and  nurse  me  and  do  all  they  could  for  me.  For  a  few 
minutes  I  did  the  most  rapid  thinking  of  my  life  time.  I  then 
told  them  not  to  take  me  from  the  main  road,  for  God's  servants 
had  promised  me  I  should  not  die  on  the  road  to  England. 
They  asked  what  they  should  do.  I  told  them  to  let  me  get 
out  of  the  wagon  on  the  sand  with  my  face  towards  Europe, 
and  then  they  should  go  to  their  lunch.  If  they  should  return 
and  find  me  dead,  they  had  better  return  home  and  conclude 
that  "Mormonism"  was  a  hoax.  They  seemed  to  think  my 
head  was  affected  and  I  had  to  charge  them  in  a  most  solemn 
manner  before  they  would  let  me  have  my  way.  When  they 
came  to  me  from  lunch  I  selected  two  brethren  to  hold  me  up 
by  the  wrists  at  the  hind  end  of  the  wagon,  and  drive  the  team 
as  slowly  as  possible,  and  when  the  paroxysms  of  the  cramp 
came  on  to  lift  me  in.  This  was  continued  till  about  three 
o'clock,  p.  m.,  when  the  cholera  left  me.  For  the  width  of 
three  fingers  where  my  stomach  and  bowels  were  cramped  over 
each  other,  my  body  was  as  black  and  blue  for  some  three 
weeks  as  any  bruise  I  have  ever  seen,  and  as  much  flesh  went 
from  me  in  six  hours,  as  a  fever  usually  takes  from  a  man  in 
a  month.  1  know  this,  that  the  faith  taught  me  by  my  father, 
Daniel  Spencer,  together  with  the  natural  grit  inherited  from 
my  father  and  mother,  saved  my  Hfe. 

We  sold  our  outfits  at  Council  Bluffs  for  considerable  more 
than  those  we  traded  for  them  would  have  brought  us.  As  we 
journeyed  through  the  States  the  Elders  separated  to  visit 
relatives,  and  on  the  day  I  reached  Albany,  N.  Y.,  I  had  no 
companion. 

I  had  acted  as  cook  considerable  of  the  time  on  the  plains ; 
had  laid  on  the  ground,  on  the  brush  and  in  the  snow,  assisted 
to  wash  dishes  and  had  done  my  full  share  of  camp  duty  gen- 
erally ;  but  in  doing  this  my  clothes  had  got  into  a  condition  that 
would  have  been  a  curiosity  at  a  dress  ball.  I  wore  a  cap  that 
many  years  before  (I  cannot  recollect  how  many)  had  been  of 
fur;  it  had  now  got  to  be  what  might  be  called  a  skin  cap.     1 


MY  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  13 

had  two  or  three  holes  cracked  through  it,  out  of  which  my 
hair  would  often  be  seen. 

I  went  aboard  a  New  York  steamer  and  applied  for  a  ticket 
for  passage  and  state  room  to  that  city.  The  agent  looked  at 
me  from  head  to  foot  and  then  said  that  I  could  not  have  one, 
as  the  boat  was  chartered  by  the  State,  county,  and  city 
authorities  for  a  pleasure  trip.  On  looking  round  I  saw  "U. 
S.  Mail' '  as  a  sign  on  the  boat ;  I  laid  down  the  money  before  the 
ticket  seller  and  demanded  my  ticket.  After  some  squirming 
on  his  part  I  got  it.  On  this  same  day  I  had  the  "blues"  as  I 
hope  never  to  have  them  a^ain.  I  had  nearly  concluded  that 
there  could  not  be  either  sense  or  inspiration  in  the  authorities 
of  the  Church  sending  me  to  England  on  a  mission,  and  that 
when  I  got  to  New  York  City  1  would  go  over  to  my  native  town 
where  I  had  some  property  and  quietly  settle  among  my  old 
friends  and  relatives.  So  great  was  the  power  that  the  devil 
had  over  me  that  when  I  first  stepped  on  the  boat  I  drew 'a 
chair  into  the  niche  by  the  "figure  head"  to  avoid  having  con- 
versation with  anyone.  1  had  sat  there  but  a  few  moments 
when  a  person  came  uj)  behind  me  and  remarked  that  it  was  a 
pleasant  evening.     I  made  no  reply. 

"Boat  making  fine  time,"  said  he. 

Still  I  did  not  answer.  Soon  he  spoke  again :  '  'Are  you 
travehng  far,  young  man?  " 

I  jerked  my  chair  around  and  answered  very  spitefully,  "I 
have  come  a  long  way  and  I  am  going  a  long  way,  all  the  way 
from  Salt  Lake  to  England.  Is  there  anything  else  3'ou  want?'' 
My  abruptness  had  sent  him  back  several  feet,  and  he  was 
looking  at  me  with  about  as  much  curiosity  as  if  he  were  view- 
ing a  wild  animal. 

Very  soon  he  smiled  and  said,  '  'Yes,  if  you  come  from  Salt 
Lake  there  is  a  good  deal  more  I  want. ' ' 

He  commenced  asking  questions,  and  soon  several  more  per- 
sons gathered  around;  but  just  then  the  dinner  bell  rang,  and 
they  invited  me  to  go  to  dine,  which  I  did  not  do,  as  it  seemed 
to  me  that  I  could  not  have  eaten  at  that  time  even  if  it  were 
to  save  my  life.  After  finishing  their  repast  I  was  waited  upon 
by  three  gentlemen,  who  stated  they  had  engaged  the  cabin 


14  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

from  the  captain  and  wished  me  to  preach.  I  told  them  I  had 
never  preached  in  my  life.  They  wanted  to  know  for  what  I 
was  going  to  England.  1  told  them  to  preach.  They  then 
wanted  to  know  why  I  would  not  preach  in  the  cabin,  my 
answer  being  that  it  was  because  I  was  not  sent  here  to  preach. 
We  finally  compromised  the  matter  by  my  consenting  to  go  to 
the  cabin  and  answer  questions.  The  room  was  so  crowded 
that  they  could  not  sit  down,  but  stood  around  in  circles,  and 
took  turns  in  asking  me  questions. 

When  I  first  sat  down  T  noticed  a  large,  black-eyed,  black- 
haired  man,  and  said  to  myself,  "When  he  comes  I  will  have 
the  devil."  After  some  time  he  pushed  forward  and  literally 
covered  me  with  compliments.  He  then  remarked,  "You  must 
excuse  me,  young  friend,  after  your  testimony  of  the  goodness 
of  your  people,  for  asking  why  such  men  as  George  J.  Adams, 
John  C.  Bennett,  Dr.  Foster,  Charles  Foster  and  others  could 
ndt  live  peaceably  in  your  community?  " 

My  answer  followed  like  lightning :  "It  was  because  they 
were  such  gamblers,  whore-masters,  black-legs  and  rascals  as 
you  are. ' ' 

He  made  a  bound  for  me;  six  men  caught  him,  pulled  him 
to  the  outside  of  the  circle,  and  slapping  him  on  the  back  told 
him  with  an  oath,  that  if  God  x\lmighty  had  come  down  out 
ot  heaven  He  could  not  have  told  his  character  any  better  than 
the  little  "Mormon"  had. 

I  answered  questions  until  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night, 
when  I  sprang  from  my  chair  and  said,  "Gentlemen,  you  have 
had  'Mormonism'  enough  for  one  night,"  and  I  started 
for  my  room.  I  was  stopped  and  led  back  to  my  chair, 
when  I  received  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  and  the 
proffer  to  raise  me  three  hundred  dollars  if  I  would  accept  the 
amount.  I  told  the  gentlemen  that  we  preached  the  gospel 
without  purse  or  scrip,  and  that  I  had  already  received  enough 
to  take  me  to  England.  I  selected,  however,  three  reliable 
men,  who  promised  me  to  see  that  the  three  hundred  dollars 
were  given  to  the  poor  in  their  neighborhoods  during  the  next 
Winter. 


MV  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  15 

I  went  into  my  room  and  prostrated  myself  with  my  face 
on  the  floor,  and  thanked  God  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
for  I  had  most  surely  talked  by  inspiration.  I  asked  forgive- 
ness for  my  unbelief,  and  from  that  time  I  was  wholly  con- 
tented to  go  to  England. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SET  SAIL  FROM  NEW  YORK— ARRIVE  IN  LIVERPOOL— SENT 
TO  LABOR  AS  A  TRAVELING  ELDER— PRAYERS  ANSWERED 
— CALLED  TO  PRESIDE  OVER  A  CONFERENCE— BLESSED 
ABUNDANTLY  WITH  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT — PROCURE  A  HALL 
TO  PREACH  IN— MOBBED— EFFECTS  OF  MY  PREACHING — 
TREATED  WITH  COURTESY— ORGANIZE  A  BRANCH  OF  THE 
CHURCH  IN  THE  TOWN  WHERE  I  WAS  MOBBED— MAKE 
ANOTHER  APPOINTMENT  TO  PREACH  IN  A  DIFFERENT 
TOWN— SEND  FOR  HELP— SPEAKERS  INTERRUPTED- AUDI- 
ENCE QUIETED  BY  ME  SINGING  A  COMIC  SONG— PREJU- 
DICE ALLAYED — A  LESSON   LEARNED. 

HAVING  rejoined  my  fellow-missionaries  in  New  York,  we 
sailed  from  that  port  August  15th,  on  the  ship  Lady  Frank- 
lin, passage,  $10  per  head,  we  having  to  board  and  cook 
for  ourselves.  After  a  fair  voyage  we  arrived  in  Liverpool  on 
the  14th  of  September,  1850.  I  spent  a  few  days  in  that  city, 
and  was  most  kindly  treated  by  Apostle  Orson  Pratt,  then 
President  of  the  British  Mission. 

I  was  sent  from  there  to  London,  and  Brother  Pratt  intended 
me  to  have  a  few  weeks  to  rest,  and  learn  the  "ropes"  among  the 
branches,  and  Saints  of  that  city.  But  the  president  of  that 
conference  sent  me  to  Colchester,  fifty  miles  from  London.  It 
was  a  hard  place  and  in  order  to  have  raised  any  life  there  in 
relation  to  "Mormonism,"  one  would  have  required  the  power  to 
resurrect  the  dead. 


16  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

I  suiFered  very  much  in  spirit  as  well  as  in  body.  I  finally 
said  to  myself,  "you  were  sent  to  this  land  by  God's  highest 
authority  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  do  it." 
The  next  morning,  after  thus  commenting  to  myself,  I  started 
for  a  town  twenty  miles  distant.  The  roads  were  wet  and  heavy 
and,  with  my  carpet-bag,  the  walk  was  a  hard  one. 

I  came  in  sight  of  the  place,  on  the  top  of  a  long  hill,  and 
noticed  a  woman  crossing  the  road  with  two  pails.  She  filled 
them  with  water  and  started  back,  but  as  she  saw  me  walking 
towards  her,  she  dropped  both  pails  and  came  to  me,  saying, 
"I  knew  you  would  come:  I  saw  you  in  a  dream.  Come  into 
my  house;  I  have  a  room  all  fixed  nice  and  clean  for  you." 

Here  I  baptized  my  first  fruits  of  the  gospel,  and  accom- 
plished a  good  work.  In  a  few  weeks  Bro.  Pratt  sent  me  to 
travel  with  Bro.  Jacob  Gates,  who  was  really  like  a  father  to 
me.  When  with  him,  we  would  take  tracts  with  us  and  go 
from  house  to  house,  and  shop  to  shop  in  Leicester  and,  in  dis- 
tributing them,  try  to  get  a  chance  to  talk  with  the  people. 

One  day  we  had  been  working  very  hard  in  the  rain  and 
mud,  but  with  little  success.  As  we  were  on  our  way  home, 
at  dusk,  we  passed  the  shop  of  an  herbalist,  and  I  told  Bro. 
Gates  I  would  like  to  go  into  this  one  place  before  going  home. 
I  bought  somethiog  for  a  penny  and,  at  the  same  time,  com- 
menced talking  "Mormonism"  to  a  stranger.  This  man's 
name  is  now  very  familiar  to  the  Latter-day  Saints,  it  being 
none  other  than  George  Goddard.  Previous  to  my  visit,  he 
had  never  heard  of  our  religion,  but,  as  he  was  an  honest  and 
brave  man,  it  was  not  long  before  he  and  his  family  were  bap- 
tized and,  in  a  little  time,  gathered  to  Zion. 

During  that  day  I  had  asked  the  Lord  many  times  to  give 
me  one  soul  as  a  comfort  and  testimony.  I  went  into  Bro. 
Goddard' s  shop  by  as  direct  inspiration  as  any  man  ever  did 
anything  by  its  dictation. 

I  traveled  a  few  weeks  with  Elder  Gates,  when  I  received  an 
appointment  to  take  the  presidency  of  the  Norwich  Confer- 
ence. 

I  wrote  to  Apostle  J".  D.  Richards,  who  then  presided  over 
the  mission,  asking  him  to  give  me  a  little  more  time  to  get 


MY  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  17 

accustomed  to  preachiog  and  to  read  up  my  Bible.  I  soon 
received  the  following  answer: 

"The  presidency  of  the  British  Mission  wishes  to  know  if 
Elder  C.  V.  Spencer  intends  to  stand  up  to  the  rack  in  this 
country. ' ' 

When  I  read  it  I  immediately  wrote  in  reply: 

"I  shall  start  to  Norwich  by  the  next  train,  and  don't  care  a 
groat  whether  there  is  any  hay  in  the  rack  or  not. ' ' 

A  sister  was  then  washing  my  clothes,  and  I  had  quite  a 
time  to  induce  her  to  let  me  have  ihem  then;  but,  at  last,  she 
wrung  them  out  as  dry  as  she  could  and  stuffed  them  into  my 
carpet-bag.  Only  a  few  minutes  elapsed  before  I  was  on  the 
way  to  Norwich. 

I  do  not  think  any  man  ever  entered  upon  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  as  president  with  more  distrust  than  I  did ;  and  I 
wish  to  record  here  that  the  great  good  afterwards  accomplished 
was  Grod's  work,  for  He  worked  through  me.  I  only  knew 
enough  to  speak  and  act  as  directed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
conference  was  represented  to  me  as  having  refused  to  sustain, 
for  its  president,  the  man  suggested  by  the  presidency  at  Liver- 
pool, and  was  otherwise  in  a  somewhat  peculiar  condition. 
Under  these  circumstances  I  was  set  to  work;  how  weak  I 
felt,  I  cannot  express  in  words.  For  months  afterwards  people 
would  say  to  me,  when  meeting  was  over,  "I  heard  your  knees 
knock  together  when  you  first  began  to  speak. ' ' 

At  the  second  meeting  I  held,  a  man  jumped  up  and  said, 
"We  know  you  be  of  the  devil !  "  I  understood  in  a  moment 
that  the  battle  for  my  victory  in  that  region  had  to  be  fought 
right  then.  I  turned  and  silenced  him  immediately.  When 
I  ceased  speaking,  the  people  were  as  meek  as  children.  I 
never  had  any  more  trouble  in  that  branch,  and  the  work 
revived  in  the  whole  conference.  The  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  power  and  manifestations  of  God  were,  I  think, 
as  noticeable  to  the  presidency  at  Liverpool  as  they  were  to 
me. 

During  the  entire  mission  I  was  greatly  blessed  with  dreams 
and  manifestations  from  the  Lord.  On  the  day  the  revelation 
on  plural,  or  celestial,  marriage  was  first  made  public  in  "Free- 


18  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

mason's  Hall,"  London,  one  of  our  most  noted  and  eloquent 
preachers  was  called  upon  to  speak.  His  effort  was  a  dry  and 
barren  failure,  patent  to  everybody  present.  There  were  over 
two  hundred  prominent  Elders  sitting  on  the  stand. 

Jacob  Grates,  the  president  of  the  meeting,  arose  and,  look- 
ing around  at  the  Elders,  beckoned  to  me  in  a  quick  way,  and 
said,  "Come  here  and  talk."  I  think  every  one,  now  living, 
who  was  present  at  that  meeting,  if  asked  the  question,  would 
say  I  was  literally  clothed  upon  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  proph- 
esied freely  and  without  fear,  and  have  lived  to  see  those 
prophecies  fulfilled  to  the  very  letter. 

At  one  time  it  was  manifested  to  me  to  go  to  a  town  thirty- 
six  miles  distant,  and  open  up  the  gospel.  I  sent  word  to  a 
branch  president  that  I  would  stop  at  his  house  on  a  certain 
day  when  on  my  way  to  that  town.  I  notified  several  Elders 
to  meet  me  at  his  house.  We  met  and  held  a  council.  I  had 
nothing  but  opposition,  the  president  saying,  "Bro.  Spencer, 
if  you  go  to  that  place,  I  clear  myself  of  the  consequences; 
your  blood  be  upon  j'our  own  head." 

I  replied,  "If  my  blood  be  shed,  it  will  be  upon  the  heads 
of  those  who  shed  it,  and  those  who  ought  to  have,  but  have 
not  got,  faith  to  sustain  me."  I  then  asked  if  any  one  of  the 
Elders  would  volunteer  to  go  with  me.  After  considerable 
hesitating,  the  youngest  Elder  in  the  conference  promised  to 
meet  me  there. 

That  day  I  walked  twenty-five  miles  and  stopped  at  a  road- 
side inn  at  dark,  with  but  one  shilling  in  my  pocket.  I  asked 
for  some  supper.  The  lady  of  the  house  said  she  could  give 
me  some  "Welsh  rabbit."  Bemg  fond  of  rabbit  I  thought  I 
would  now  have  a  treat;  but,  instead  of  what  I  expected,  she 
brought  in  Fome  toasted  cheese  and  bread.  I  was  so  disap- 
pointed at  this  that  I  crept  into  bed  without  supper.  She,  how- 
ever, took  my  last  shilling. 

The  next  morning  I  walked  to  the  next  town,  twelve  miles 
distant,  and,  on  nearing  it,  saw  a  lone  building  on  the  common. 
I  hunted  up  the  owner  and  got  permission  to  speak  in  it.  I 
then  went  from  house  to  house,  notifying  the  people  of  the 
meeting.     About  this  time  the  young  Elder  came,  according 


MY  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  19 

to  promise.  As  we  went  through  the  streets  a  crowd  of  rude 
boys  and  girls  followed  us,  jeering  and  throwing  dry  manure, 
pieces  of  coal,  etc. ,  at  us. 

About  noon  we  came  to  four  cross  roads  in  the  town,  one  of 
which  led 'to  the  Elder's  home.  Stopping  here,  he  said, 
"Brother  Spencer,  I  cannot  stand  this,"  and  tried  to  pursuade 
me  to  give  up  the  labor;  but  failing  to  move  me  he  walked 
away.  About  dusk  I  found  myself  near  a  cottage  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town.  I  went  in  and  notified  a  woman  (the  only 
occupant)  that  in  a  few  minutes  I  would  lecture— and  also 
invited  her  to  attend.  I  started  towards  the  place  of  meeting 
but  had  got  only  a  few  steps  when  I  felt  a  hand  on  my  shoul- 
der ;  turning  my  head,  I  saw  the  woman  I  had  just  left ;  she 
asked  me  if  I  had  eaten  supper,  and  when  I  told  her  I  had 
not  eaten  or  drank  that  day,  she  invited  me  back  and  placed 
before  me,  I  think,  every  good  thing  she  had  in  the  house.  I 
then  started  to  fill  my  appointment. 

The  building  was  full  and  many  were  on  the  outside.  My 
first  reception  was  a  peat  sod  on  the  side  of  the  head,  which 
knocked  me  down.  I  soon  rallied,  picked  the  dirt  out  of  my 
ear.  prayed,  stretched  both  hands  out  before  my  face  as  if  to 
make  a  dive,  and  made  a  rush  for  the  crowd,  exclaiming,  as  I 
came  up,  "G-entlemen,  make  room,  I'm  the  man  who  lectures 
here  to- night."  I  succeeded  in  getting  into  the  building  after 
promising  the  Lord  I  would  say  just  what  He  gave  me.  I 
knew  it  was  no  use  to  try  to  sing  or  pray.  The  first  thought 
that  came  to  me  on  arising  was  the  scripture  which  says,  "God 
hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  that  dwell  on  the 
earth,"  etc.  I  quoted  it  and  was  barren  of  thought  for  some 
two  minutes,  when  my  spirit  in  an  instant  read  the  people. 

I  claimed  brotherhood  by  the  authority  of  God's  word, 
alluded  to  the  persecutions  of  the  Methodists  in  their  early 
daj's,  and  asked  who  would  think  that  the  Methodists  in  so 
short  a  time  would  be  found  persecuting  other  religious  bodies. 
I  called  their  attention  to  my  condition,  thousands  of  miles 
away  from  home,  etc.  In  a  few  moments  several  handker- 
chiefs were  out,  wiping  tearful  eyes.  I  had  a  glorious  meeting, 


20  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

and  at  the  close  was  assailed  by  a  minister,  but  the  crowd 
hoisted  him  out  of  the  building  and  hooted  him  home. 

Three  gentlemen  took  me  to  the  best  inn  of  the  town  and  told 
the  landlord  to  treat  me  with  the  greatest  courtesy  and  charge 
the  bill  to  them.  In  four  weeks  from  that  time  I  organized  a 
branch  of  sixteen  members  at  that  place. 

At  one  time  I  was  desirous  to  create  an  interest  in  a  district, 
and  hired  a  town  hall  at  a  populous  sea- port  place ;  I  placarded 
largely,  and  soon  found  that  possibly  I  had  created  more  inter- 
est than  would  be  pleasant.  As  the  importance  of  the  meeting 
grew,  so  also  grew  a  sense  of  my  own  littleness  and  I  sent  word 
to  Elder  Gr.  B.  Wallace,  at  Liverpool,  and  Elder  Harmon,  in 
Scotland,  to  come  and  help  me.  1  paid  $17.50  expenses  for  Bro. 
Harmon  and  I  think  to  Bro.  Wallace  $25.00.  On  the  day  of  the 
meeting  I  learned  there  would  be  a  large  mob  present.  I  went 
to  the  hall  before  the  brethren  and  soon  perceived  there  was 
trouble  ahead,  but  realizing  how  much  the  meeting  would  cost 
me  and  the  pains  that  had  been  taken  I  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  a  defeat.  I  had  persistently  plead  with  the  Lord 
for  victory. 

The  idea  had  become  prevalent  that  Brother  Harmon  was 
one  of  the  Twelve  I  called  on  him  to  speak  first.  The 
assembly  listened  to  him  for  about  two  minutes.  Then  Brother 
Wallace  fried  it,  when  a  blacksmith  by  the  name  of  Anguish 
interrupted  him,  and  Brother  Wallace  spitefully  told  him  to 
"shut  j^our  head."  That  remark  brought  matters  to  a  chmax. 
He  spoke  no  more  than  ninety  seconds,  and  then  we  had  a 
good  representation  of  what  imagination  pictures  as  the  pan- 
demonium of  hell.  I  knelt  with  my  back  to  the  congregation 
and  said,  "Father!  I  have  done  all  I  know.  If  there  is  any- 
thing else  you  wish  me  to  do,  manifest  it  to  me  when  I  get  up 
and  I  will  do  it."  As  soon  as  I  arose  to  my  feet,  a  comic  song 
that  I  used  to  sing  in  those  days  came  to  my  mind,  and  I  felt 
as  though  it  wanted  to  get  out  of  me  in  all  my  parts.  I  paused 
a  moment,  stepped  to  the  front,  threw  my  arms  out  towards 
the  congregation,  and  said,  "Boys,  it  will  be  a  new  thing  for 
you  to  hear  a  minister  sing  a  comic  song  in  a  meeting ;  but  if 
you  will  be  quiet,  I  will  sing  you  one."     I  sang  it  better  than 


Mr  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  21 


ever  before  or  since,  and  at  the  close  they  gave  me  a  good, 
hearty  cheer.  1  then  appealed  to  them  as  Englishmen,  telling 
them  how  Americans  treated  Englishmen  when  they  came  to 
our  country,  I  continued  speaking  for  one  hour,  and  from  the 
first  five  minutes  the  dropping  of  a  pin  on  the  floor  could  have 
been  heard.  At  the  close  many  came  and  shook  hands,  and  in 
sixpences,  shillings,  etc.,  gave  me  something  over  $17.00. 

When  my  hands  went  out  towards,  and  over  a  part  of  that 
congregation  1  felt  power  and  control  go  with  them  as  tangibly 
as  I  ever  felt  cold  or  heat,  and  I  learned  this  lesson,  not  to 
shirk  my  own  responsibilites  and  run  for  others  to  fill  my  place, 
let  me  be  ever  so  weak. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AN  AMUSING  EPISODE— OBTAIN  THE  KEYS  OF  A  CHURCH- 
NOTIFY  THE  PEOPLE  THAT  A  MEETING  WILL  BE  HELD 
IN  IT— A  GOOD  TURN-OUT—MY  COMPANION  PREACHES 
WHILE  I,  DISGUISED  AS  A  POLICE,  GUARD  THE  DOOR — 
EXCITEMENT  AROUSED— CONTROVERSY  WITH  A  MINISTER 
— AN  ANTI- "mormon"  MEETING  HELD— I  ATTEND— RE- 
PLY TO  THE  ministers'  ATTEMPTS  TO  EXPOSE  "mOR- 
MONISM" — MY  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  BUILDING — SAVED  BY 
AN  INFIDEL— PROSPERITY  OF  THE  WORK— REMARKABLE 
HEALINGS — A  PREDICTION  UTTERED  AND  FULFILLED — 
MY  RETURN  HOME— CONTRAST  BETWEEN  THE  CONDITION 
OF  THE   SAINTS   NOW  AND  THAT  OF  THIRTY  YEARS   AGO. 

I  WILL  mention  an  amusing  episode,  that  occurred  during  a 
visit  that  Brother  Wallace  made  the  conference.  It  started  in 
fun  but  resulted  in  great  good :  I  took  him  to  a  country  branch 
where  the  work  was  pretty  dead  and  we  stopped  with  a  man 
who  had  a  standing  in  the  Church,  but  as  a  reward  for  his 
little  faith  had  been  made  trustee  of  one  of  the  prominent 
sectarian  churches  and  held  the  keys  of  their  place  of  worship. 


22  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

We  rather  crowded  ourselves  on  to  him.  It  was  a  damp,  cold 
day,  and  the  man  of  the  house  was  very  stingy  with  his  coal. 
We  finally  found  his  coal-house  and  helped  ourselves  to  fuel. 
It  was  amusing  to  see  the  old  gentleman  come  in  and  out  and 
eye  our  bountiful  fire,  and  we  thought  the  more  coal  we  burned 
the  more  anxious  the  old  man  would  be  to  get  us  out  of  the 
house.  So  the  next  time  he  came  into  the  room  he  found  us 
with  a  fire  that  entirely  filled  the  fire  place.  I  took  no  notice 
of  his  sour  looks  and  gravely  told  him  that  Brother  Wallace 
was  a  builder  by  trade  and  took  great  pleasure  in  visiting  the 
churches  and  public  buildings,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  allow 
us  the  keys  of  his  church,  that  we  might  examine  the  archi- 
tectural designs.  He  gave  us  the  keys  and  we  told  him  we 
would  not  return  that  afternoon  until  late. 

This  town  was  divided  into  what  was  called  Upper  and 
Lower  Shipdom,  and  was  separated  by  quite  a  little  distance. 
The  church  was  in  Upper  Shipdom.  One  of  us  went  to  the  lower 
town  and  notified  the  people  quietly  that  an  American  gentleman 
would  lecture  in  the  Upper  Church  that  evening,  while  the 
other  examined  the  church,  arranged  the  seats  and  lights.  At 
the  hour  appointed  the  church  was  pretty  well  filled.  We  did 
not  light  up  until  all  was  ready  for  commencing. 

Brother  Wallace  took  the  stand,  and  preached  a  very  good 
sermon,  while  I  took  my  stand  against  the  inside  of  the  door 
dressed  as  a  policeman  and  with  a  club  in  my  hand.  By  occa- 
sionally tapping  a  few  on  the  shoulder  I  succeeded  in  keeping 
pretty  good  order  until  "amen"  was  said,  when  Brother  Wallace 
made  his  exit  through  the  back  and  I  through  the  front  door.  By 
some  means  the  door  got  locked  after  we  had  passed  out,  and 
the  mob,  which  had  by  this  time  collected,  imagining  we  had 
locked  ourselves  in,  made  pretty  violent  demonstrations  at  the 
front  of  the  building  trying  to  get  at  us  while  we  were  laugh- 
ingly wending  our  way  to  some  other  section. 

For  the  next  two  weeks  the  papers  of  the  neighborhood 
teemed  with  accounts  of  "Mormon  impudence,"  etc.,  and  in  a 
little  time  we  could  not  call  a  meeting  anywhere  in  the  confer- 
ence, but  what  it  would  be  crowded.  Curiosity  was  above 
par. 


Mr  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  23 

In  another  part  of  the  district,  at  a  noted  watering  place,  I 
secured  a  town  hall.  As  soon  as  meeting  was  opened,  I  was 
interrupted  by  an  orthodox  minister.  He  gave  me  credit  for 
my  sincerity  but  regretted  that  I  had  not  turned  my  attention 
to  the  heathen,  instead  of  coming  there  where  he  had  preached 
so  many  years.  He  appealed  to  the  congregation  to  testify  that 
they  all  knew  he  was  acquainted  with  every  word  in  the  Bible. 
I  could  see  that  trouble  was  imminent  and  my  hypocritical  oppo- 
nent knew  it,  but  was  desirous  of  bringing  it  along  in  as 
respectable  a  manner  as  possible.  I  conversed  with  him  for 
some  time  on  Bible  doctrine,  and  when  we  had  finished  the 
whole  congregation  had  turned  away  from  him  and  were  listen- 
ing to  me  with  rapt  attention.  I  here  learned  what  simple 
things  and  persons  the  Lord  could  use  to  remove  grave 
obstacles. 

On  two  diflferent  occasions,  when  I  was  in  imminent  peril,  my 
wife,  who  was  dead,  and  her  father,  who  died  in  1846,  appeared 
to  me  together  and  talked  to  me,  and  were  as  natural  to  me  as 
in  life. 

The  priests  were  for  some  time  banded  together  in  a  secret  organ- 
ization. The  first  knowledge  of  which  came  to  me  at  the  place 
where  I  was  knocked  down,  as  already  mentioned.  They 
soon  became,  however,  more  bold,  and  during  a  visiting  tour 
among  the  branches  of  my  district  I  was  warned  while  walking 
in  the  road,  that  something  was  wrong  in  Norwich.  I  went 
immediately  to  that  place,  and  before  I  reached  my  rooms  I  was 
met  by  two  brethren,  who  said,  ''There's  a  big  anti- 'Mormon' 
meeting  at  St.  Andrew's  hall." 

I  replied,  '  'Very  well,  I  will  brush  up  and  go  to  it. ' '  They 
and  others  whom  I  met  plead  with  me  not  to  go. 

When  I  entered  the  hall  I  found  it  too  densely  packed  for 
me  to  get  a  seat  in  the  body  of  the  house.  On  looking  to  the 
stand  I  counted  seventeen  of  the  prominent  ministers  of  Nor- 
folk and  Suffolk  comfortably  seated.  I  said  to  myself,  "I  also 
am  a  minister  and  that  is  my  place."  I  walked  up  and  took  a 
seat.  There  were  two  thousand  people  present  at  that  meeting. 
At  that  time  St.  Andrew's  hall  ranked  as  the  third  finest  hall 
in  England. 


24  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

The  meeting  commenced  about  half- past  two,  p.  m.,  and  it 
was  about  five  o'clock  when  I  entered.  At  half-past  eight  the 
chairman  announced  that  if  any  member  of  the  unfortunate 
"Mormon"  Church  was  present,  who  had  the  hardihood  and 
moral  courage  to  attempt  a  defense  after  such  an  overwhelming 
exposure  of  their  system  as  had  been  made  that  day  to  the 
citizens  of  Norwich,  he  would  be  allowed  to  speak.  Of  course 
all  eyes  had  been  on  me  and  the  invitation  was  a  trap  on  the 
part  of  the  ministers.  They  offered  me  no  way  of  getting  to 
the  pulpit  as  I  was  behind  five  rows  of  seats,  each  of  which 
was  packed  with  my  opponents  and  not  one  oiFered  to  allow  me 
to  pass.  I  prayed,  put  my  hands  on  the  sides  of  the  heads  of 
the  two  ministers  in  front  of  me,  made  an  opening  and  stepped 
over  into  their  seat;  this  I  did  with  the  others  until  I  reached 
the  pulpit. 

A  great  part  of  what  I  said  I  did  not  know  at  the  time,  nor 
have  1  known  since,  but  near  the  close  of  my  remarks  I  found 
myself  with  my  back  to  the  congregation  and  my  face  to  the 
preachers.  My  last  words  to  the  latter  were,  "You  are  infi- 
dels, and  it  is  you  who  make  infidels,  and  by  your  precepts 
smother  the  hope  of  any  realization  of  the  gifts  and  blessings 
promised  by  Christ  and  His  Apostles.  1  prophesy,  moreover, 
to  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  your  labors 
of  this  day  and  night,  shall  be  the  cause  of  hundreds  embrac- 
ing the  gospel  I  preach. ' ' 

After  I  ceased  to  speak  the  chairman  undertook  to  read  from 
the  Book  of  Mormon,  but  he  shook  so  that  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  read.  Another  man  tried  to  speak,  but  he  was 
affected  in  the  same  way  and  had  to  desist. 

There  was  a  stairway  leading  from  where  I  stood  down  to 
the  vestibule,  and  I  hoped  to  reach  it  soon  enough  after  the 
dismissal  to  make  my  escape ;  but  when  I  got  there  it  was  full 
of  human  beings,  who  were,  however,  more  like  devils  than 
men.  They  shouted,  "Where  is  he?  Tear  him  limb  from  limb; 
throw  him  over  into  the  river,"  etc. 

A  tall  man  wearing  a  cloak  could  see  me  while  the  rest 
seemed  blinded.  He  came  up,  covered  me  entirely  with  his 
cloak,  shpped  his  arms  under  mine,  drew  me  up  to  his  bosom 


MF  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  25 

and  whispered,  "Be  still  and  I  will  save  you."  He  carried  me 
out  of  the  vestibule,  the  court  yard,  and  nearly  a  block  up  the 
street,  the  mob  crowding  up  against  and  around  us  the  whole 
distance.  My  deliverer  worked  his  way  to  the  side  of  the 
street  until  he  got  to  his  own  home  when  he  struck  the  spring 
of  a  door  in  a  stone  wall,  it  flew  open,  he  cast  me  in  like  a  log 
of  wood,  and  passed  on  with  the  crowd.  In  about  three-quar- 
ters of  an  hour  he  came  back  with  some  of  our  people  and  I 
was  liberated  and  guarded  home.  This  man  was  what  is  gen 
erally  called  an  infidel.  The  next  day  I  presented  him  with 
the  best  bound  set  of  our  publications  I  could  procure.  I 
asked  him  why  he  saved  my  life,  to  which  he  replied  that  it  was 
only  because  of  a  love  of  justice. 

From  the  time  of  this  occurrence  the  work  prospered  as  it 
had  never  done  before.  Our  chapel  was  literally  packed,  and 
some  citizens  even  took  out  every  window  on  one  side,  brought 
their  own  trussel  and  planks  and  built  a  platform  the  entire 
length  of  the  building.  On  one  occasion  we  went  out 
after  the  evening  meeting  and  baptized  seventeen  persons,  and 
the  conversions  during  the  whole  time  were  quite  numer- 
ous. 

One  evening  some  rowdies  came  intending  to  mob  us.  I  sat 
on  the  stand  carefully  watching  every  movement  of  the  assem- 
bly. Finally  I  leaned  over  and  whispered  to  Brother  William 
Foster  (who  now  sings  in  the  Tabernacle  choir)  to  sing  us  some- 
thing. He  started  the  hymn  "Praise  to  the  man."  The  Holy 
Spirit  rested  upon  the  choir  and  the  peace  of  Grod  was  upon 
the  congregation,  and  the  quietness  of  the  meeting  was  recalled 
to  my  memory  by  a  brother  on  the  side-walk  a  few  days  since. 

During  the  time  the  cholera  raged  in  England,  in  1852,  I 
never  entered  a  house  where  it  was,  or  administered  to  a  person 
who  had  it  but  what  it  instantly  left.  One  rainy  night  I  was 
called  to  go  and  visit  a  lady  who  had  been  taken  with  this  ter- 
rible disease.  It  was  mid-night  when  I  reached  the  house  and 
was  met  at  the  door  with  the  statement  that  two  doctors  had 
just  left  who  said  that  the  afflicted  one  must  die.  I  entered 
the  room,  walked  to  the  bedside  and  commanded  the  person  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  by  virtue  of  the  Priest- 


26  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

liood  to  rise  up  sound  and  whole.    In  fifteen  minutes  she  was 
eating  supper  and  she  sang  several  songs  before  I  left. 

I  wish  here  to  bear  testimony  of  the  kindness,  obedience  and 
love  of  the  Saints  at  the  Norwich  conference.  They  were  like  my 
children  and  I  was  their  father.  In  their  poverty  they  gave  to 
me  liberally,  and  what  I  received  I  spent  freely  in  helping  the 
poor  and  the  sick,  and  for  the  work  of  God.  Up  to  the  time  they 
presented  me  with  means  to  return  home  I  had  not  saved  five 
sliillings.  After  my  return  home,  the  first  two  hundred  and 
fcuventy-five  dollars  I  obtained  1  took  to  President  Young  with 
the  request  that  he  send  it  to  the  poorest  of  the  poor  of  Nor- 
wich conference.  He  remarked  as  he  took  it,  "Brother  Spen- 
cer, you  are  the  first  returned  missionary  that  ever  did  the 
like." 

Brother  Neslen,  who  is  now  usually  called  "Father  Neslen,' 
was  president  of  the  Lowestoft  branch  during  my  presidency  of 
the  Norwich  conference.  He  was  in  good  circumstances  and 
had  a  nice  house,  but  during  my  first  visits  to  the  branch  he 
never  invited  me  to  his  house,  and  after  late  meetings  used  to 
take  me  away  quite  a  distance  to  sleep.  On  one  of  my  visits, 
as  we  were  walking  on  the  "Esplanade,"  1  turned  to  him  and 
said,  "Brother  Neslen,  you  may  think  it  rather  strange  manners, 
but  I  feel  impressed  to  ask  you  the  reason  why  you  never 
invite  me  to  j-our  house?  "  He  replied  that  none  of  his  family 
belonged  to  the  Church  and  he  was  afraid  if  he  did  my  feel- 
ings would  be  hurt,  (His  family  consisted  of  a  wife  and  nine 
children. ) 

I  turned  to  him  and  said,  "Brother  Neslen,  you  are  presi- 
dent of  this  branch,  and  as  foreign  as  it  may  be  to  Gentile  man- 
ners I  must  do  my  dut3\  I  want  you  to  invite  me  to  your 
house ;  if  you  do  so  I  promise  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
that  every  one  of  your  family  shall  embrace  the  gospel,  and 
everyone  shall  live  to  go  to  Zion ;  if  3^ou  do  not,  and  have  not 
faith  to  stand  up  in  your  place  as  the  head  of  your  own  fam- 
ily you  are  not  fit  to  stand  as  president  of  the  branch ;  and 
more  than  that,  you  will  apostatize  and  none  of  you  be  saved 
in  the  kingdom  of  God. ' ' 


MY  EXPERIENCE  IN  ENGLAND.  27 


The  next  time  I  visited  Lowestoft  he  took  me  to  his  home: 
his  wife  was  kind  as  a  mother  in  her  treatment  and  in  a  few 
months  the  ten  souls  where  baptized  and  all  lived  to  reach  Zion 
in  safety. 

I  left  the  Norwich  conference  in  the  beginning  of  1853.  It 
then  numbered  one  thousand  and  fifty- nine  people — one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  having  been  baptized  during  the  last  six 
months.  I  brought  home  with  me  to  Zion  ninety-five  souls, 
thus  fulfilling  the  words  of  my  blessing  that  1  should  return  to 
Zion  bringing  many  sheaves  with  me.  The  great  majority  that 
came  have  abode  in  the  faith  and  they  have  increased  and  mul- 
tipHed  in  Israel,  until  they  now  number  more  than  those  who 
were  left  back  in  the  conference. 

'  In  writing  this  short  sketch  I  have  omitted  to  praise  individ- 
uals whose  works  in  those  days  will  make  me  love  them  while 
life  lasts.  But  I  wish  here  to  gratefally  acknowledge  the  kind- 
ness of  Elder  George  B.  Wallace. 

My  health  in  that  land  was  very  poor.  I  suifered  from  a 
grievous  and  dispiriting  affliction  all  the  time  I  was  in  Eng- 
land. After  I  had  been  there  some  months  I  met  Bro.  Orson 
Pratt;  his  first  exclamation  was,  "What  is  the  matter  with 
you?"  He  told  me  I  could  go  home.  I  said  I  had  no  money, 
to  which  he  replied,   "I  have,  and  you  can  go  comfortably." 

I  told  him  I  had  not  accomplished  what  I  was  promised. 
"But,"  said  he,  "if  you  die  here  you  will  not  accomplish  it; 
and  had  you  not  better  go  than  be  buried  in  this  land  ? 

1  answered,  "I  was  commanded  to  come  here  and  perform 
a  certain  work  by  the  highest  authority  in  Zion.  I  will  not  go 
home  unless  you  command  me." 

He  saw  my  faith,  blessed  and  comforted  me  and  I  went  back 
to  my  labors. 

When  a  boy  I  received,  at  the  Nauvoo  Temple,  my  endow- 
ments and  the  birthright,  with  promises,  under  the  hands  of 
my  father,  which  I  relied  upon. 

1  returned  to  Salt  Lake  City  September  19th  1853,  making 
three  years  and  five  months,  to  a  day,  that  I  was  absent. 

Tn  going  through  Salt  Lake  City  I  find  prominent  merchants 
who  wore  poor  lads  in  my  field  of  labor.     I  find   an  owner  of 


28  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

real  estate  on  Main  Street  who  used  all  the  means  his  entire 
family  could  gather  together  to  bring  himself  out  here,  so  that 
he  could  raise  means  to  emigrate  them  afterwards.  I  pass  by 
costly  shops  of  merchandise  and  find  the  owners  are  people 
who,  in  our  Norwich  Conference,  were  very  poor.  1  see  a  cot- 
tage and  beautiful  grounds,  and  find  them  owned  by  one  with 
whom  I  shared,  in  that  land,  the  portion  given  to  me  by  the 
poor. 

I  go  through  the  country  and  find  scarcely  a  family  of  those 
who  emigrated  in  1853  but  what  is  surrounded  by  all  the  nec- 
essaries and  many  of  the  comforts  of  life.  I  now  realize  that 
whether  my  first  mission,  in  its  ending,  .was  much  or  little,  its 
results  no  man  can  tell. 

I  am  satisfied  and  paid  for  the  very  little  and  feeble  labors 
that  I  performed.  I  returned  bright  and  zealous  in  the  love  of 
the  truth.  God  has  never  yet  forsaken  me  by  His  Spirit,  and 
I  do  not  believe  that  any  man  will  ever  be  trusted  to  walk  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  Elder  Brother,  Jesus,  as  a  Savior  of  a 
world,  or  ever  be  seated  with  honor  on  the  right  hand  of  His 
Father,  until  he  has  learned  to  wade  through  deep  and  troubled 
waters,  up  stream  and  against  the  current  without  earthly 
props  or  stays. 

I  am  closing  this  history  near  my  sixtieth  birthday,  and  have 
been  moved  to  write  it,  that  my  gratitude  and  acknowledge- 
ment of  the  honor  done  me  by  the  Lord,  that  His  testimonies 
given  to  one  of  His  servants  in  the  latter-day  work,  might  be 
preserved  and  live  on  the  earth.  I  gratefully  dedicate  it  to 
President  Franklin  D.  Richards,  with  the  hope  and  prayer 
that  he  will  use  it,  at  the  time  and  under  the  circumstances 
which  his  wisdom  shall  dictate,  for  the  strengthening  of  the 
faith  of  the  young,  and  the  comforting  of  the  hearts  of  some 
old  veterans  whose  touching  experiences  have,  perhaps,  never 
been  known  away  from  their  own  firesides. 


Mr  SWISS  MISSION.  29 


MY  SWISS  MISSION. 


BY  WILLIAM  BUDGE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MANNER  IN  WHICH  THE  GOSPEL  IS  PREACHED— MY  LABORS 
IN  ENGLAND— CALLED  TO  SWITZERLAND— JOIN  MY  COM- 
PANION AND  TAKE  PASSAGE  TO  FRANCE— PROCEED  TO 
SWITZERLAND— MEET  ELDERS  IN  GENEVA— OUR  FIELDS 
OF  LABOR  ASSIGNED  US. 

IN  presenting  a  sketcli  of  missionary  experience  as  reading 
matter  for  the  young  people  of  modern  Israel,  I  am  aware 
that  they  may  have  read  many  such  before;  but  there  is  so 
much  variety  and  interest  connected  with  the  means  and  meth- 
ods which  have  been,  and  are,  used  in  the  extension  of  the 
latter-day  work,  that  I  need  not  apologise.  So  singular  and 
diversified  have  been  the  circumstances  surrounding  the  Elders, 
that  there  is  a  peculiar  interest  in  all  their  narratives. 

Some  of  the  peculiarities  of  God's  work  are  very  promin- 
ently manifested  in  the  missionary  department.  The  Elders 
are  sent  without  purse  and  without  scrip,  and  the  closer  they 
live  to  this  requirement,  the  more  successful  they  are  likely  to 
be.  It  requires,  however,  much  faith  to  do  this,  and  it  brings 
us  face  to  face  with  many  trials,  temptations  and  inconven- 
iences; but  it  also  brings  us  nearer  to  God,  as  our  condition 
requires  the  help  which  He  alone  can  give,  in  blessing  us  with 
His  Spirit,  raising  up  friends  and  opening  up  the  way  before 
us. 

The  Elders  in  modem  times,  like  those  of  ancient  days,  have 
generally  been  unlearned,  which,  according  to  human  wisdom, 


30  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

would  be  a  very  serious  drawback  in  teachiDg  a  new  faith.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  faith  the  Elders  have  been  sent  to  teach  is 
not  only  strange,  but  unpopular  in  the  world.  The  sending  of 
men,  without  money  or  learning,  to  establish  a  new  religion, 
almost  wholly  in  its  nature  opposed  to  the  views  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  are  sent,  seems  a  strange  thing.  We  con- 
fess it  does;  but  God's  ways  are  not  like  our  ways,  yet  they 
are  the  best.  His  way  of  having  the  gospel  preached  serves 
other  purposes  as  well  as  accomplishing  the  main  object.  It 
proves  the  integrity  of  the  preacher,  as  there  are  no  worldly 
benefits  attached  to  the  work;  and  it  proves  the  sincerity  of 
the  believer,  as  there  is  no  prospect  of  gain  held  out,  but  the 
truth  itself  There  must  be  earnestness  and  faith  on  both 
sides. 

The  gospel  has  been  carried  to  many  nations,  and  will  be 
preached  to  all  nations  before  the  end  comes.  It  will  be  readily 
understood  that  the  difficulties  of  missionary  work  are  much 
increased  when  the  gospel  is  sent  to  nations  where  a  foreign 
language  to  that  of  the  preacher  is  spoken,  even  if  the  laws 
are  liberal  enough  to  permit  the  Elder  freely  to  do  his  duty. 

I  labored  in  the  Southampton  (England)  conference,  as  a 
travehng  Elder,  in  the  years  1852  and  1853.  I  had  labored  in 
the  north  of  P]ngland  and  in  the  west  of  Scotland  previously, 
and  had  seen  hard  times,  endured  much  and  been  the  means 
of  bringing  a  number  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  The 
Southampton  district,  to  which  I  had  been  appointed  when 
this  brief  history  begins,  consisted  of  the  town  of  Southamp- 
ton and  several  smaller  places  convenient  to  visit,  and  contain- 
ing a  number  of  faithful  Saints. 

In  those  days  Elders  sent  to,  or  connected  with,  what  was 
termed  "foreign  missions,"  especially  those  of  France,  Switzer- 
land and  Italy,  were  in  the  habit  of  sailing  from  and  arriving 
at  Southampton.  I  had  the  pleasure  there  of  making  the 
acquaintance  of  such  men  as  Andrew  Lamareaux,  James  H. 
Hart,  Edward  Stevenson,  Nathan  T.  Porter,  T.  B.  H.  Sten- 
house,  Jabez  Woodward,  S.  L.  Bailiff  and  others.  Elders 
Lamareaux  and  Woodward  died  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel. 
Bro  Stenhouse,  although  a  capable  man,  was  proud  and  fell 


.      MV  SWISS  MISSION.  31 

from  the  ranks  of  tlie  righteous.  The  remaining  four  named 
have  continued  their  usefulness  unwaveringly,  and  are  brighter 
and  better  with  the  passing  years.  They  often  rested  at  South- 
ampton and  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  the  ever-kind  Saints  of 
that  place.  Their  conversation  was  interesting  as,  like  the  old 
warrior  who,  in  his  stories,  fought  his  battles  o'er  again,  they 
related  their  experience  and  told  of  the  habits  and  customs  of 
strange  peoples,  and  of  the  difficulties  they  encountered  in 
establishing  the  gospel  in  distant  lands,  and  of  the  kindness  of 
those  whom  they  were  instrumental  in  bringing  into  the  light 
and  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  Elders  engaged  in  the  British  mission  did  not  covet  a 
foreign  mission,  although,  probably,  not  one  of  them  would 
have  hesitated  a  moment  about  going  if  he  had  been  sent.  I 
never  knew  of  one  re ''using,  and  I  was  as  well  acquainted  with 
our  missionaries,  personally  and  otherwise,  I  believe,  as  any 
one  man  from  1850  to  1860.  As  I  observed,  the  Elders  did 
not  naturally  desire  a  mission  that  made  necessary  the  learning 
of  another  language,  and  the  meeting  of  other  serious  hin- 
drances and,  oftentimes,  suffering  and  imprisonment  on  account 
of  prejudice  and  ilhberal  laws.  I  had  such  feelings;  and,  in 
consequence  of  being  acquainted  with  so  many  that  were  con- 
nected with  missions  on  the  continent,  felt  sometimes  a  little 
uneasy,  like  Elders  at  home  who  think  it  probable  that  they 
maybe  "called"  at  conference  time.  I  was,  however,  ready 
to  go  if  called. 

My  labors  in  the  Southampton  conference  were  greatly 
blessed.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  baptizing  quite  a  number  of 
people,  and  I  am  thankful  in  knowing  that  many  of  them  are, 
to-day,  faithful  Saints  in  Zion.  While  laboring  here,  I  was 
instructed  by  the  president  of  the  mission  to  prepare  to  go  to 
the  Shetland  Islands;  but,  after  further  consideration,  and 
especially  in  consequence  of  the  favorable  season  of  the  year 
being  so  far  gone,  it  was  concluded  to  let  the  matter  rest. 

Early  in  1854  I  was  sent  to  labor  in  the  Norwich  conference 
where  I  enjoyed  my  labors  very  much.  I  still  thought,  some- 
times, of  foreign  missions,  but  now  all  thoughts  of  the  French, 
German  and  Italian  languages  which  there  had  been,  in  my 


82  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

mind,  some  danger  of  my  having  to  learn,  were  forgotten,  as 
there  was  now  no  opportunity  of  my  coming  into  contact  with 
foreign  missionaries  traveling  to  or  from  their  fields  of  labor. 

In  July,  1854  I  received  instructions  to  labor  in  Cambridge, 
one  of  the  ancient  seats  of  learning,  and  now  a  city  of  colleges. 

My  mission  here  embraced,  as  a  special  work,  the  distribu- 
tion of  our  Church  tracts  among  the  professo'S  and  students; 
and  my  experience  in  this  laljor,  if  not  alwaj^s  pleasant,  was 
exceedingly  profitable  to  me,  arising  from  the  necessity  of  pre- 
paring myself  to  answer  questions,  give  explanations  and  to 
cultivate  the  virtues  of  patience  and  long-suifering.  I  per- 
sisted in  the  labor,  however,  and,  in  time,  enjoyed  it.  Although 
there  was  less  apparent  good  done  in  adding  to  the  Church 
than  in  any  former  field  of  labor,  I  endeavord,  with  the  help 
of  God,  to  do  my  duty  while  I  remained  in  that  hardened  city. 
One  day  I  was  resting  at  the  conference  house  in  Cambridge, 
when  a  letter  came  for  me  from  Liverpool  which  contained  the 
following  appointment: 

"To  Whom  it  may  Concern:— 

"This  is  to  certify  that  Elder  William  Budge  is 
hereby  appointed  to  labor  under  the  presidency  of  Elder  Dan- 
iel Tyler,  president  of  the  Swiss  and  Italian  missions  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,"  etc.,  etc. 

It  was  signed  by  President  Franklin  D,  Richards  who  then 
presided  over  the  branches  of  the  Church  in  the  British  Isles 
and  adjacent  countries.     That  foreign  mission,  at  last! 

The  reception  of  that  appointment  brought  with  it,  to  me, 
one  of  the  strongest  evidences  of  the  divinity  of  this  work:  it 
brought  the  spirit  of  my  new  mission  with  it.  As  I  finished 
the  reading  of  the  letter  my  feelings  were  entirely  changed.  I 
was  both  ready  and  willing,  and  was  not  satisfied  until  I  pro- 
cured a  work  on  German,  and  had  actually  started  on  my 
journey  to  Switzerland, 

Elder  Samuel  Francis,  now  of  Morgan  County,  Utah,  as 
stated  in  a  letter  accompanying  my  appointment,  was  also 
called  at  the  same  time  to  the  same  mission.  On  my  way  to 
join  him  I  spent  one  night  in  London.      In  the  evening  I 


MT  SWISS  MISSION.  33 

attended  a  meeting  in  one  of  the  branches.  Years  after  I  had 
the  honor  of  presiding  over  the  London  Conference,  but  this 
was  the  first  meeting  I  ever  attended  in  the  great  cit)\  We 
had  a  good  time,  the  Spirit  being  poured  out  bountiful!}^  upon 
us.  Several  Elders  spoke,  and  one,  referring  to  my  going  to 
Switzerland,  prophesied  before  the  people  that  I  would  yet 
preside  over  the  British  Mission.  I  was  astonished,  and 
thought  that  perhaps  my  brother's  zeal  and  good  feelings  had 
controlled  his  tongue;  but,  by  the  direction  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  through  His  servants,  after  the  lapse  of  twenty-four 
j^ears,  it  did  surely  come  to  pass. 

Brother  Francis  received  me  kindly  at  Brighton,  where  he 
labored.  He  had,  for  a  companion,  a  book  entitled  "French 
Without  a  Master,"  and  I  noticed  he  often  consulted  it.  He 
told  me  he  bad  been  "reading  up"  and  had  made  some  pro- 
gress. I  had  not  had  time  to  "read  up"  much,  and,  conse- 
quently, my  progress  was  not  worth  mentioning;  but  I  felt 
consoled  somewhat  when  I  thought  how  convenient  it  would 
be  to  have  a  companion  who  could  act  as  interpreter  on  our 
journey  through  France.  We  sailed  from  New  Haven  for 
Dieppe  on  the  28th  of  September,  1854.  The  voyage  was  not 
a  long  one,  but  the  sea  was  troubled  so  much  that,  during  part 
of  the  time,  we  did  not  think  a  great  deal  about  either  French 
or  German,  with,  or  without,  a  master.  As  we  drew  near 
the  shores  of  France,  we  thought  it  necessary  to  make  some 
inquiry  about  the  Custom  House  and  passport  regulations. 
Bro.  Francis  made  some  advances  in  French  to  a  Frenchman, 
but  the  party  addressed,  evidently,  did  not  know  much  about 
"book  French,"  as  spoken  by  my  esteemed  companion.  Long 
after  this  I  found  that  the  provincial  natives  of  a  country  fre- 
quently speak  a  corruption  of  the  language  and  are  not  famil- 
iar with  the  language  proper  when  spoken.  It  was  agreeable 
to  us  to  think  that  this  Frenchman  might  be  one  of  that 
class. 

We  landed,  had  our  baggage  examined  in  the  Custom  House 
and  were  passed  out  into  the  street,  strangers  in  a  strange 
land.  We  were  anxious  to  find  the  railway  station  and  Bro. 
Francis  at  once  brought  his  "French  Without  a  Master"  to 


34  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

light.  He  stopped  and  endeavored  to  get  up  a  conversation 
with  two  different  natives  whom  he  met  on  the  street,  but, 
unfortunately,  they  were  not  "up"  in  their  education  and  we 
were  obliged  to  go  back  to  the  ancient  and  barbarous  language 
of  signs,  although  my  companion's  perseverance  was  worthy  of 
greater  success. 

After  stopping  several  hours  in  Paris  and  Macon  we  arrived 
at  Geneva,  the  headquarters  of  the  Swiss  and  Italian  Mission, 
in  good  health  and  spirits;  but  before  entering  the  city  the 
police  stopped  our  diligence  (stage)  and  collected  our  passports. 
They  were  taken  into  the  police  office  in  the  city,  where  they 
were  kept  until  the  owner  concluded  to  travel  further;  but,  in 
the  meantime,  that  is,  next  day,  we  were  furnished  with  a  per- 
mit, intended  to  save  us  from  annoyance  if  the  police  should 
take  special  notice  of  us. 

Our  brethren  met  and  welcomed  us.  They  were  Elders  T. 
B.  H.  Stenhouse,  president  of  the  mission,  although  about  to 
leave,  having  been  released  to  gather  with  the  Church,  Daniel 
Tyler,  his  successor,  George  Mayer,  J.  F.  Secrist,  G.  D.  Kea- 
ton,  C.  R.  Savage  and  John  Chislett. 

On  Sunday,  October  1st,  we  met  in  general  conference,  which 
lasted  three  days,  where  we  had  a  time  of  rejoicing  together. 
At  this  conference  Elder  Francis  was  appointed  to  labor  in 
Italy  among  the  Waldenses  who  speak  French;  and  I  was 
appointed  to  labor  under  the  direction  of  Elder  Mayer  in  the 
Zurich  Conference,  a  portion  of  Switzerland  where  the  people 
speak  German.  It  was  with  regret  that  I  parted  with  my 
intelligent  companion,  Brother  Francis.  I  heard  from  him  at 
intervals  afterwards;  and,  in  the  course  of  time  and  changes, 
under  the  providences  of  God,  we  met  again  in  England  to 
labor  together  in  the  Birmingham  district. 

Geneva,  although  not  the  capital  of  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion, is  its  principal  city.  It  has  now  a  population  of  about 
fifty  thousand.  Nearly  four  thousand  of  these  are  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  watches  and  jewelry.  The  city,  situ- 
ated on  the  southern  end  of  the  lake  of  the  same  name,  pre- 
sents a  majestic  appearance;  the  hills  beyond  and  around  form- 
ing a  beautiful  prospect. 


Ml  SWISS  MISSION. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ARRIVAL  IN  BERNE— ITS  PRINCIPAL  OBJECTS  OE  INTEREST 
—GO  TO  WEININGEN,  WHERE  I  REMAIN  TO  STUDY  GER- 
MAN—SKETCH FROM  MY  JOURNAL— HUNTED  BY  MOBS- 
INTERVIEWED  BY  THE  MAYOR. 

ON  October  the  4th  I  left  Geneva  with  Elder  Mayer  for  our 
field  of  labor.  We  sailed  about  thirty  miles  on  the  lake  and 
then  had  a  short,  pleasant  walk  to  Lausanne.  This  place  has  a 
population  of  twenty-eight  thousand;  it  is  the  capital  of  the 
canton  De  Yaud,  and  is  a  very  attractive  place  of  residence. 

At  3  p.  m.  we  took  our  seats  on  the  diligence  and  were  soon 
traveling  along  towards  Berne,  the  capital  city  of  the  Swiss 
re])ublic,  where  we  arrived  at  5  o'clock  on  the  following  morn- 
ing. 

Berne  has  now  a  population  of  about  forty  thousand.  It  is 
the  capital  of  the  canton  as  well  as  of  the  nation.  It 
is  built  on  the  River  Aar.  Numerous  quaint  and  ornamental 
fountains  decorate  its  streets;  but  the  buildings  are  dull  and 
heavy-looking,  the  windows  being  generally  small.  It  is  what 
might  be  called  an  old-fashioned  place.  The  city  derives  its 
name  from  the  word  haren,  the  German  for  bears.  The  figure 
of  that  interesting  animal  is  conspicuous  everywhere,  on  town 
gates,  fences  and  houses.  For  centuries  living  bears  have  been 
kept  at  the  public  expense.  The  Bear  Pit  is  one  of  the  places 
of  interest  about  Berne,  as  there  is  generally,  in  fine  weather, 
a  number  of  people  collected  there  to  enjoy  the  antics  of  the 
imprisoned  animals.  An  Englishman  fell  into  this  pit  on  the 
night  of  the  3rd  of  March,  18G1,  and  was  torn  to  pieces  after  a 
desperate  struggle.  There  are  many  interesting  places  about 
this  remarkable  old  town.  It  has  a  fine  old  cathedral,  built  in 
the  sixth  century,  with  an  organ,  justly  celebrated,  said  to  be 


LABORS  IN  THE   VINEYARD. 


about  equal  to  that  of  Fribourg,  another  town  in  Switzerland. 
The  Fribourg  organ  has  sixty-seven  stops  and  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  pipes,  some  of  the  latter  being  thirty-two  feet 
long.  There  are  also  a  museum,  palace,  hospital  and  other 
objects  of  interest. 

Our  next  stage  was  to  the  town  of  Baden  where  we  took 
train  to  Schlieren,  and  then  walked  to  the  village  of  Wein- 
ingen,  about  six  miles  from  Zurich,  the  principal  city  of  the 
German  portion  of  Switzerland, 

There  was  a  small  branch  of  the  Church  at  this  place,  and 
it  was  designed  that  I  should  reside  here  for  a  time  to  com- 
mence my  study  of  German.  On  reaching  Bro.  Hug's  house 
we  were  received  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  and  soon  had 
some  refreshment  of  which  we  stood  in  need.  At  night  a 
prayer  meeting  was  held  in  the  house.  I  much  enjoyed  the 
spirit  which  prevailed,  but  understood  not  a  word.  The  sound 
of  speaking  seemed  to  be  continuous,  and  it  was  impossible  for 
me  to  catch  the  beginning  or  end  of  a  word  or  sentence.  The 
Saints  here  numbered,  in  all,  fifteen  or  sixteen,  the  fruits  of 
the  labors  of  Elder  George  Mayer  who  lives  now,  I  believe,  in 
Utah  County. 

On  the  6th,  Bro.  Mayer  went  to  Zurich  and  1  was  left  with 
my  Swiss  friends  and  my  books. 

The  family  with  whom  I  lived  showed  me  every  kindness. 
How  strange  it  is  when  a  person  cannot  make  known  his 
thoughts,  nor  understand  people  when  they  talk !  The  very 
sound  of  German  was  harsh  to  me;  but  I  soon  got  accustomed 
to  it. 

I  soon  learned  that  the  authorities  of  Switzerland  were  very 
suspicious  of  anything  hke  a  gathering  of  the  people  and, 
therefore,  all  we  did  had  to  be  kept  very  quiet.  I  did  not 
attract  much  notice,  however,  because  I  was  kept  very  busy  in 
my  endeavors  to  acquire  the  language. 

In  my  journal  I  find  the  following: 

"November  the  25th.  For  some  considerable  time  past  the 
inhabitants  of  Weiningen  have  been  lying  against  the  Saints, 
and  the  spirit  of  persecution  has  been  increasing.  The  villaee 
minister  has  been  lecturing  against  the  'Mormons'  and  made 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  37 

— — _ — . J 

the  people  worse.  For  the  last  two  or  three  days  they  have 
been  threatening  to  put  a  stop  to  'Mormonism,'  and  they  com- 
menced in  the  following  manner: 

"About  eight  o'clock  this  evening,  while  Bro.  Henry  Hug 
was  gone  to  baptize  two  persons,  a  crowd  gathered  around  the 
house,  railing  and  swearing  against  us.  They  forced  open  the 
window  shutters  and,  at  length,  entered  the  outer  entrance  of 
the  house  where  several  of  the  brethren  had  gone  to  speak  to 
them.  The  mob  would  not  listen,  but  forced  their  way  into 
the  room,  beating  back  the  brethren;  we  were  trying,  in  the 
meantime,  to  prevent  them.  The  mob  being  more  particularly 
in  search  of  Elder  Mayer  or  myself,  gave  a  howl  of  satisfac- 
tion when  they  perceived  me.  Bro.  Mayer  was  not  in  the 
place  and  several  men  instantly  laid  hold  of  me  and  soon  drag- 
ged me  to  the  door.  The  brethren,  seeing  this,  made  another 
effort  and  succeeded  in  rescuing  me,  when  a  general  fight  began 
as  well  as  it  could  be  maintained  by  seven  or  eight  persons 
against  forty  or  fifty,  that  being  the  number  that  could  come 
into  the  apartment.  At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  the 
small  light  that  stood  upon  a  table  was  extinguished  and  we 
were  in  sudden  darkness,  which  at  once  put  an  end  to  hostil- 
ities. The  thought  had  just  passed  through  my  mind  that  if 
I  could  make  my  escape  it  would  save  the  property  in  the  house 
from  destruction,  and  the  people  from  this  riotous  mob.  As 
soon  as  we  were  in  darkness  Sister  Ragela  Hug  whispered  to 
me  to  follow  her;  I  did  so  and,  by  some  crowding  and  caution, 
we  reached  the  hall  doorway,  when  a  man  got  hold  of  me  by 
the  hair.  I  quickly  gave  him  a  dig  in  the  stomach  with  my 
elbow  which  as  quickly  caused  him  to  let  go  his  hold;  but  he 
gave  the  alarm.  It  was,  however,  too  late:  we  had  gained  the 
back  room,  which  we  entered  and  bolted  the  door  inside.  I 
had  but  time  to  unfasten  a  window  and  leap  from  it  to  the 
ground  before  the  crowd  issued  from  the  doors,  both  in  the 
front  and  back  of  the  house.  I  ran  a  short  distance,  then 
stood  and  listened,  but,  hearing  no  one  pursuing,  1  went  into 
the  orchard  and  drew  near  the  house  again,  as  I  wished  to 
know  whether  the  mob  had  left  the  house,  for  if  they  had  I 
expected    the   Saints  would  be  safe  from  further  trouble. 


LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


When  near  enough  I  heard  the  men  searching  for  me  in  the 
out  houses;  so  I  turned  and  walked  into  Zurich,  which  place  I 
reached  about  2  o'clock  in  the  morning,  my  body  bruised,  my 
head  uncovered  and  my  clothes  very  much  torn.  I  went  to 
Elder  Baer's  house  and  was  soon  admitted,  had  some  refresh- 
ments and  went  to  bed  and  slept  soundly. 

"The  next  day  Elder  Baer  went  to  Weiningen  and  I  spent 
the  day  with  Elder  Mayer  and  the  Saints  at  the  meetings.  In 
the  evening  Elder  Baer  returned  and  told  us  that  Bro.  Henry 
Hug,  while  baptizing  on  the  previous  evening,  was  interrupted 
by  a  portion  of  the  mob  that  had  annoyed  us.  He  was  smit- 
ten on  the  face  and  taken  before  the  authorities,  first  at  Wein- 
ingen and  then  at  Zurich;  and  was  kept  in  prison  all  night. 
Also  that,  after  I  had  left  Weiningen,  the  brethren  and  some 
of  the  crowd  did  some  fighting,  but  there  was  no  one  hurt 
much.  Thus  the  Lord  once  more  delivered  us  out  of  the 
hands  of  our  enemies." 

Only  a  few  days  elapsed  after  these  events  before  I  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  Stadtlialter  (mayor)  who,  by 
the  aid  of  an  interpreter,  examined  me  at  considerable  length, 
the  substance  of  which  I  insert  here  as  complete  as  possible: 

Question. — How  old  are  you? 

Answer. — Twenty-six  years  old. 

Q. — Where  were  j^ou  born? 


A 

Q 
A 

and 

Q 

A 

Q 

A 

Q 

A 

Q 

A 

Q 
A 


— In  Lanark,  Scotland. 

— Did  you  ever  follow  any  business,  if  so,  what  was  it? 

— I  was  engaged  at  an  inn,  and  afterwards  in  the  boot 

shoe  business. 

— Where  did  you  come  from  to  this  country? 

— From  Cambridge,  England. 

— Were  you  long  in  England? 

— About  three  years  and  a  half 

— In  what  part? 

— In  many  parts. 

— Had  you  property  left  you? 

-No. 

— Then  you  made  some  money  by  your  business? 

— Yes,  while  engaged  in  it. 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  39 

Q  — Did  you  follow  any  business  while  traveling  in  England? 

A.— Yes. 

Q.— What? 

A. — Lecturing. 

Q. — On  politics  or  religion? 

A. — Religion. 

Q. — What  did  you  come  to  this  country  for,  and  what  have 
you  been  doing  since  you  came  here? 

A. — I  came  here  partly  to  learn  the  German  language,  and 
to  give  lesssons  in  English,  and  I  have  been  doing  so  since  I 
came. 

Q. — How  long  is  it  since  you  came  into  Switzerland? 

A. — I  came  into  Switzerland  on  the  last  day  of  September. 

Q. — Into  what  part? 

A. — Geneva. 

Q. — Are  you  a  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  the  people  called 
Mormons? 

A. — Yes,  sir. 

Q. — As  it  is  taught  in  this  country? 

A. — I  do  not  yet  understand  the  language  of  this  country. 

Q. — But  you  believe  the  doctrines? 

A. — Yes,  those  that  I  understand. 

Q. — Have  you  taken  any  active  part  in  Mormonism  in  this 
country? 

A. — Of  course  not;  I  have  just  said  1  was  ignorant  of  the 
language. 

Q. — Do  you  believe  in  the  plurality  of  wives  as  being  true? 

A. — Yes,  sir. 

Q. — Have  you  taught  it  to  the  people  here? 

A. — I  cannot  convey  my  thoughts  or  belief  to  the  people, 
as  I  have  not  mastered  the  language  sufficiently. 

Q. — Have  you  any  desire  that  the  people  here  should  believe 
the  doctrine  of  plurality  of  wives? 

A — .1  would  rejoice  in  knowing  that  all  people  believed  in 
the  Bible. 

Q. — Do  you  believe  that  the  Bible  teaches  that  doctrine? 

A. — ^Yes,  most  certainly;  any  one  who  believes  the  Bible 
must  believe  that  doctrine.     (I  here  oflPered  to  explain  it  from 


40  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

scripture,  but  was  informed  that  they  did  not  interfere  with 
the  faith  of  any  man,  and  that  everyone  had  a  right  to  draw 
their  own  conclusions  from  the  Bible;  but  he,  the  Stadthalter, 
wished  to  know  if  1  desired  to  see  that  doctrine  put  in  opera- 
tion in  Switzerland,  to  which  I  repUed  in  the  negative. ) 

Q.— Why  not? 

A. — Because  the  people  are  not  prepared  for  such  a  state  of 
things,  and  it  would  be  unlawful. 

Q.— Yes,  but  if  you  had  the  power,  would  you  not  intro- 
duce the  practice  of  that  system  ? 

A.— No. 

Q.-Why? 

A. — I  have  no  desire  to  do  anything  against  the  spirit  of 
the  laws  as  at  present  established.  Again,  1  have  no  right  to 
introduce  such  a  state  of  things:  I  never  received  authority 
from  God,  who  is  the  Author  of  the  Bible  religion,  to  do  such 
a  thing;  so  that,  if  I  had  the  power,  I  have  not  the  disposi- 
tion to  do  so  in  this  country  or  any  other. 

Q.— Do  you  know  Mr.  Mayer? 

A. — Yes,  sir. 

Q. — How  long  have  you  known  him? 

A. — Since  I  came  to  this  country. 

Q. — Did  you  not  know  him  before? 

A. — No,  sir. 

Q. — How  did  yon  become  acquainted  with  him? 

A. — I  met  him  at  the  house  of  a  friend. 

Q. — In  what  place? 

A. — In  Greneva. 

Q. — Will  you  give  us  the  address  of  that  friend? 

A. — Certainly,  you  can  have  it;  but  I  may  mention  that  my 
friend*  left  Geneva  for  America  nearly  two  months  ago.   (The 

authorities  here  showed  some  dissatisfaction  at  the  nature  of 
my  last  communication. ) 

Q. — Is  Mr.  Mayer  an  American? 

A. — I  never  asked  him,  but  I  believe  he  is. 


-Elder  T.  B.  H.  Slenhoube,  why  had  been  released. 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  41 

Q. — Do  you  know  what  business  he  followed  before  he  came 
to  Switzerland? 

A. — No,  I  knew  nothing  of  him. 

Q, — Did  you  ever  tell  the  people  here  that  by  paying  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money,  or  as  much  as  they  couM,  they  might 
obtain  a  passage  to  America? 

A. — I  know  nothing  of  such  an  arrangement;  besides,  I 
have  repeatedly  stated  to  you  that  I  cannot  speak  German  well 
enough  to  explain  anything. 

Q. — Do  you  know  anything  of  such  a  matter  among  the 
Mormons  here? 

A. — No,  I  do  not.* 

The  Stadthalter  now  advised  me  to  continue  to  abstain  from 
taking  any  active  part  with  the  "Mormons"  as,  perhaps,  I  was 
not  aware  (not  being  able  to  read  the  public  newspapers)  to 
what  extent  the  people  were  excited  against  "Mormonism," 
and  told  me  I  would  be  sent  for  in  about  a  week  to  obtain  the 
necessary  papers  to  stay  in  Zurich,  as  it  was  dangerous  for  me 
to  remain  longer  in  Weiningen.  Thus  ended  my  first  examin- 
ation, and  for  the  next  two  weeks  I  heard  nothing  from  the 
authorities;  but  rumors  were  prevalent  that  the  "Mormons" 
were  about  to  be  expelled. 


+ In  being  questioned  about  emigration,  the  object  was  to  convict  us  of 

receiving  the  people's  money  by  making  promises  which  we  could  not  fulfill. 
Any  one,  of  course,  could  secure  a  passage  to  America  by  paying  the  neces- 
sary amount.    The  laws  of  Switzerlaod  did  not  prevent  emigration. 


42  LABORS  IN  THE  VINE  YARD. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LETTER  FROM  ELDER  SECRIST— ORDERED  TO  LEAVE  ZURICH 
— ARRESTED  AND  IMPRISONED  IN  A  FILTHY  DUNGEON — 
TAKEN  TO   BETTER  QUARTERS— RELEASED. 

ABOUT  this  time  I  received  letters  from  several  of  the  breth- 
ren in  other  parts  of  the  mission,  from  which  I  learned  that 
we  in  Zurich  were  not  the  only  ones  who  were  being,  persecuted. 
From  Bro.  Secrist's  letter,  written  at  St.  Louis,  France,  I  copy 
the  following : 

"You  may  think  it  strange  to  hear  from  me,  an  outcast  (not 
on  the  island  of  Patmos,  but  in  the  kingdom  of  France)  for 
the  testimony  of  the  truth  and  of  the  gospel,  which  we  preach. 
I  hardly  know  how  to  begin  my  history.  I  left  Greneva  sick, 
yet  complained  little.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  and  distress 
of  body  that  I  arrived  at  a  good  sister's  house  in  Thun,  where 
I  had  a  severe  time  for  about  three  days.  About  one  week 
after,  President  Tyler  came  to  see  me.  We  ordained  three  to 
the  Priesthood.  I  kept  myself  hidden  from  strangers,  and 
traveled  from  place  to  place  after  night,  and  as  the  Saints  are 
very  much  scattered,  frequently  walked  twelve  miles  after 
dark.  I  felt  after  a  time  that  something  was  not  right,  and  as 
the  reigning  Stadthalter  wished  to  see  me  to  learn  from  me 
concerning  our  doctrine,  I  went  to  see  him.  About  this  time 
he  received  a  note  from  Berne,  stating  that  'Secrist  had  left 
the  canton  and  if  he  were  to  show  himself,  to  see  after  him  and 
send  him  to  Berne,'  yet  he  (the  Stadthalter)  gave  me  the 
privilege  of  going  to  Berne  by  myself,  instead  of  sending  me 
by  a  policeman. 

"I  went,  expecting  to  get  a  hearing,  but  this  was  denied  me. 
They  wished  to  know  where  I  wanted  to  go.  I  answered  to 
Thun.    They  replied,  'You  cannot  go  to  Thun,'  and  got  into 


MY  SWISS  MISSION.  43 

a  passion  and  sent  me  to  prison,  where  i  remained  nine  days. 
The  brethren  did  all  they  could  for  me  to  get  the  authorities  to 
hear  me,  stating  that  the  preacher  at  Siglerswyl  (who  com- 
plained against  me)  did  not  represent  the  thing  as  it  was. 
They  had  encouragement  to  have  a  re-hearing  for  me,  till  last 
Friday.  They  had  petitioned  testifying  that  I  had  not  brought  a 
strange  doctrine  in  the  land,  etc. ,  but  all  to  no  purpose ;  in 
short,  on  last  Saturday  morning,  I  was  transported  by  a  police- 
man, and  never  got  clear  until  at  the  dividing  line  of  Switzer- 
land and  France." 

I  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  Elder  Jacob  F.  Secrist  in 
Geneva,  and  found  him  to  be  a  very  humble  and  devoted  mis- 
sionary. He  had  just  commenced  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a 
permanent  work  in  Berne  and  Thun  (a  town  some  fifteen 
miles  distant  from  the  former)  where  he  had  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  after  enduring  many  hardships,  baptized  a 
number  of  good  people  and  established  one  or  two  branches. 
He  was  honorably  released  to  return  to  Zion,  but  did  not  live 
to  enjoy  the  happiness  of  a  re-union  with  his  family  in  this 
life,  as  he  died  somewhere  in  the  States  on  his  way  home. 

For  four  or  five  weeks  during  these  exciting  times  I  kept  no 
journal,  as  it  was  not  prudent  under  the  circumstances  to  do 
so.  In  a  country  where  a  man  may  be  arrested  and  impri- 
soned at  any  moment,  as  we  then  expected  to  be,  and  without 
a  knowledge,  on  his  part,  of  any  charge  being  made  against 
him,  it  was  not  safe  to  write  and  carry  evidence  of  one's  move- 
ments and  connections.  Although  there  was  nothing  wrong 
about  our  acts  or  intentions,  as  our  only  desire  was  to  remain  that 
we  might  teach  our  brethren  and  sisters  and  preach  the  gospel, 
as  required  by  the  revelations  of  God ;  we  wished  to  avoid 
bringing  trouble  on  others,  if  we  had  to  feel  the  efi'ects  of  pre- 
judice and  persecution. 

About  this  time  Elder  C.  R:  Savage,  now  of  Salt  Lake  City, 
whose  field  of  labor  was  at  Lausanne,  visited  us.  I  was  greatly 
pleased  to  see  him.  He  was  an  old  acquaintance,  as  we  had 
been  fellow-laborers  in  the  Southampton  conference  in  Eng- 
land. 


44  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

While  daily  expecting  to  hear  from  the  police- authorities, 
we  occupied  all  the  time  we  could  in  straightening  up  Church 
records  and  accounts  of  Church  books  received  from  and  sent 
to  different  places,  which  was  somewhat  difficult  as  we  had  to 
estimate  values  in  different  kinds  of  money. 

As  the  time  passed,  Elder  Mayer  was  busy  visiting  and 
preaching  to  the  Saints  and  strangers,  who  attended  our  meet- 
ings, and  I  assisted  him  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  I  had  studied 
hard  and  was  steadily  improving  in  a  knowledge  and  use  of 
the  German  tongue.  We  anticipated  trouble  from  the  author- 
ities, in  consequence  of  rumors  prevailing,  but  we  trusted  in 
the  Lord  who  had  sent  us  to  warn  this  nation,  and  we  waited 
with  confidence  coming  events. 

About  December  16th,  Elder  Mayer  and  myself  received 
notice  from  the  police  to  leave  the  canton  of  Zarich  within 
eight  days.  Elder  Mayer  made  application  to  the  American 
consul,  who  would  do  nothing  for  him,  and  I  wrote  to  the 
Britifeh  ambassador  at  Berne.  In  my  communication  I  claimed 
protection  as  a  British  subject  and  stated  how  I  had  been 
treated  by  the  authorities  of  the  canton  in  which  I  then  was, 
they  even  refusing  to  give  any  reason  for  the  unjust  course 
pursued  in  regard  to  me. 

He  gave  an  almost  immediate  reply  in  which  he  stated  that 
he  had  asked  for  explanation  concerning  the  course  pursued 
towards  me,  and  had  also  used  his  influence  to  have  the  order 
of  banishment  suspended  for  a  time.  He  then  asked  me  to 
write  him  fully,  as  I  afterwards  did,  any  and  all  causes  which 
I  might  think  had  led  to  the  action  of  the  authorities. 

Elder  Mayer,  as  the  American  consul  would  do  nothing  for 
him,  had  to  leave  and  was  shortly  afterwards  honorably 
released  to  return  home  to  Zion;  and  notwithstanding  my 
protest,  the  act  of  expulsion  against  me  remained  in  force  and 
I  had  also  to  leave  or  go  to  prison,  and  remembering  the 
advice  of  the  ambassador,  to  comply  with  the  orders  of  the 
police  until  the  matter  was  fully  investigated,  I  concluded  to 
comply  with  the  requisition. 

Brother  Mayer  was  the  first  missionary  sent  to  Zurich  in 
this  dispensation.     He  was  an  example  of  industry  and  perse- 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  45 

verance  in  his  ministry  and  was  the  means  of  accomplishing 
a  great  deal  of  good.  Ele  baptized  quite  a  number  and  organ- 
ized a  branch  of  the  Church  in  Zurich  and  another  in  Wein- 
ingen.  He  left,  carrying  with  him  the  blessings  and  good  feel- 
ings of  both  Saints  and  strangers  who  knew  him. 

1  concluded,  waiting  the  final  issue  of  the  ambassador's 
negotiations,  to  remove  to  Badan  in  a  neighboring  Catholic 
canton.  Brother  Savage,  who  could  not  speak  Grerman, 
decided  to  go  with  me  for  a  few  da5'S  before  returning  to  his 
field  of  labor  in  Lausanne.  The  grief  of  the  Saints  was  visi- 
ble on  every  countenance,  they  felt  discouraged,  it  seemed  to 
them  that,  in  the  departure  of  the  Elders,  the  last  link 
connecting  them  with  the  body  of  the  Church  was  about  to 
be  severed  and  that  they  were  soon  to  be  left  without  a  shep- 
herd. 

The  excitement  about  the  "Mormons"  had  been  consider- 
able, the  newspapers,  as  usual,  printing  all  manner  of  false- 
hoods concerning  us  and  those  of  Zurich  printing  a  notice  of 
our  expulsion  and  advising  the  authorities  in  neighboring 
cantons  to  look  after  us.  The  Protestant  cantons  manifested 
their  opposition  to  us  the  most,  and  the  excitement  among 
them  was  general.  The  Catholic  cantons  showed  little  interest 
in  the  matter,  therefore  we  thought  it  best  to  take  refuge  in 
one  of  them. 

Extremely  little  has  ever  been  accomplished  by  the  Elders 
among  a  Boman  Catholic  population,  in  consequence  of  the 
dense  ignorance,  in  a  general  sense,  of  the  mass  of  the  people 
and  their  unwillingness  to  examine  anything  religious  apart 
from  their  own  faith — the  result  doubtless  of  an  education 
which  shaekels  thought  and  crushes  out  aspirations  which 
would  lead  to  religious  freedom.  A  few  days  experience,  sur- 
rounded by  an  unfriendly  influence,  inclined  us  to  ac  ^ept  an 
invitation  to  visit  a  family  of  Saints  in  Weiningen,  the  same 
with  whom  I  had  lodged  at  a  former  period  and  in  whose 
house  I  had  been  mobbed.  That  place  was,  however,  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  canton  of  Zurich  and  therefore  dangerous 
to  our  liberty.  We  had  been  considering  the  propriety  of 
Brother  Savage  returning  to  Lausanne  and  my  going  into  one 


46  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


of  the  other  Protestant  cantons  where  there  were  a  few  scat- 
tered Saints,  but  I  thought  it  would  be  better  to  reserve  my 
visit  in  that  direction  until  the  excitement  was  somewhat 
allayed  that  I  might  be  able  to  remain  for  a  season. 

At  this  juncture  the  invitation  reached  us  from  Weiningen. 
Our  friends  promised  us  the  utmost  secresy  and  care,  as  they, 
of  course,  understood  that  I  had  baen  banished  and  was  in 
danger,  if  found  in  the  canton.  I  finally  concluded  to  go  to 
Weiningen,  and  as  the  distance  was  short  Brother  Savage 
accompanied  me.  We  got  within  two  or  three  miles  of  our 
destination  as  it  was  getting  dark,  and,  as  arranged,  were  met 
by  two  of  the  brethren  who  came  to  pilot  us  into  town  in  safety. 
On  our  arrival  at  Brother  Hug's  residence  we  were  met  by 
kind  friends  whose  glad  countenances  testified  to  the  happiness 
they  felt  at  beholding  us.  Supper  was  ready  and  we  all  sat 
down  to  partake  of  the  blessings  provided  by  this  kind  family 
when  suddenly  the  door  was  thrust  open  and  a  policeman,  with 
several  assistants,  walked  into  the  room  and  arrested  Brother 
Savage  and  myself. 

They  next  proceeded  to  relieve  us  of  such  things  as  our 
pockets  contained,  all  the  while  asking  questions  which  we  did 
not  answer,  and  congratulating  each  other  upon  the  capture 
they  had  made.  I  had  quite  a  sum  of  mission  money  in  large 
silver  pieces  which  1  intended  to  send  to  Geneva  by  Brother 
Savage.  As  our  visitors  commenced  to  relieve  us  of  such 
articles  as  we  had,  the  Hug  brothers  (there  were  several  of 
them)  interposed,  which  led  to  considerable  wrangling,  when 
I  thought  of  the  money,  and  backing  against  brother  Jacob 
Hug,  drew  nearly  all  of  the  money  out  of  my  pocket,  unob- 
served, and,  as  I  thought,  put  the  money  into  his,  but  the 
outside  opening  of  his  trousers  led  down  his  leg  as  well 
as  into  his  pocket,  and,  unfortunately,  in  the  hurry  the  money 
went  the  wrong  way,  making  a  noise  and  scattering  all  over 
the  floor.  The  poHce,  amazed,  cleared  the  floor  and  picked  up 
most  of  the  coin.  Brother  Jacob  Hug  claimed  the  money, 
however,  and  as  the  police  could  not  prevail  upon  me  to  own 
it,  Brother  Jacob  had  it  returned  to  him  the  next  day. 
Without  partaking  of  the  good  supper  which  had  been  set 


Mr  SWISS  MISSION.  47 

before  us  we  were  escorted  to  temporary  quarters  for  the  night 
at  the  house  of  a  village  policeman.  On  the  way  a  remark 
was  made  by  one  of  us  when  we  were  at  once  ordered  not  to 
speak.  We  were  placed  in  a  large  room  and  against  the  door 
inside  was  pushed  a  heavy  table,  on  which  were  placed  a 
loaded  musket,  a  bottle  of  wine  and  a  loaf  of  bread.  The  con- 
tents of  the  first  for  us  if  we  attempted  to  escape,  and  of  the 
two  latter  for  the  benefit  of  the  policeman  and  his  assistant, 
who  sat  up  all  night  to  take  care  of  us. 

Our  guards  felt  elated  over  their  wine  and  our  capture,  the  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  which  seemed  to  please  them  very 
much.  I  wondered  how  our  arrival  in  the  village  was  known,  and 
so  soon,  but  learned  all  about  it  from  the  conversation  that  took 
place  between  them.  Some  persons  had  accidentally  seen  us 
meet  the  brethren  who  came  to  guide  us  into  the  village. 

Not  having  answered  their  questions  when  they  arrested  us, 
they  took  it  for  granted  that  we  did  not  understand  Grerman, 
so  they  spoke  freely.  The  policeman  pointing  to  me  said, 
"That  is  a  fine  fellow,  he  used  to  pretend  to  give  English 
lessons,  how  could  he,  when  he  cannot  speak  any  German?" 

We  were  hungry,  at  least  I  was,  and  supposed  Brother 
Savage  was  also.  1  dared  not  ask  him  as  we  might  have  been 
separated,  but  when  it  grew  late  and  there  was  no  sign  of  any- 
thing for  us  to  eat,  I  distinctly  asked  in  German  if  we  were  to 
have  any  supper.  The  effect  of  this  very  natural  request  was 
most  remarkable.  The  policeman  sprang  to  his  feet  and  with- 
out a  word  walked  over  to  where  I  sat,  put  his  fist  to  my  face 
and  hissed  out  the  words,  "I  thought  you  could  not  speak 
German." 

I  replied,  "0  yes,  I  can  sometimes." 

"Then  why  did  you  not  answer  me  in  Mr.  Hug's  house?" 
he  asked. 

I  answered,  "Because  I  did  not  choose  to  do  so." 

He  was  very  angry  and  appeared  ready  to  strike  me,  but  he 
thought  better  of  it  and  walked  back  to  his  seat,  stating  that 
we  would  get  no  supper.  Just  at  this  time  his  wife  looked  in 
at  the  door  and  with  great  kindness  plead  with  him  to  allow 
her  to  give  us  something  to  eat,  but  he  would  not.     He  at 


LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


length  got  up  and  offered  me  a  piece  of  crust  of  the  bread 
in  a  very  surly  manner,  which  I  declined.  I  then  told  him  we 
were  ready  to  go  to  bed.  He  pointed  to  the  floor  and  said  we 
might  lie  there,  but  his  wife  again  interfered  in  our  behalf,  and 
after  considerable  sharp  talk  on  her  part,  as  well  as  his,  she 
was  permitted  to  bring  in  a  bed  and  bed  clothes,  when  we  lay 
down  and  spent  the  night  very  comfortably,  as  we  were 
tired. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  were  ordered  to  get  up,  and  with- 
out breakfast  were  marched  to  Zurich,  six  miles  distant.  Like 
Brother  Secrist,  we  had  to  go  before,  the  policeman  walking 
behind  with  his  musket  over  his  shoulder.  As  we  reached 
Zurich  our  procession  attracted  the  attention  of  the  citizens, 
and,  before  we  reached  the  jail,  had  quite  a  following.  At 
the  jail  Brother  Savage  and  I  were  separated.  I  was  taken  to 
an  underground  cell  and  locked  in.  Its  size  was  about  eight 
feet  by  six,  with  one  small  window  on  a  level  with  the  street; 
but  worst  of  all,  the  cell  was  abominably  dirty.  The  furniture 
consisted  of  a  narrow  bench  and  one  or  two  old  rugs,  the  place 
being  used  to  confine  persons  in  temporarily,  until  they  were 
taken  away  for  trial.  During  the  day  a  number  of  prisoners 
were  unceremoniously  pushed  in  and  shortly  afterwards  taken 
away  again,  and  although  most  of  them  were  anything  but 
pleasant  companions,  the  changes  made  broke  the  monotony 
of  the  long  prison  hours.  They  were  all  hand-cuffed  and  some 
looked  as  if  it  were  a  very  proper  precaution.  Some  were 
bound  with  great  severity  and  begged  me,  as  soon  as  we  were 
alone,  to  adjust  the  small  chain  which  was  round  their  wrists, 
in  the  hope  of  obtaining  relief 

As  the  day  wore  on  the  polluted  atmosphere  of  the  cell 
sickened  me.  The  foulness  of  the  place  was  beyond  descrip- 
tion, the  very  walls  as  high  as  a  man  could  reach  were  covered 
with  filthiness.  I  grew  tired,  as  there  was  no  resting  place, 
being  on  my  feet  all  day,  and  hungry,  as  I  had  not  eaten  any- 
thing for  about  thirty  hours.  At  seven  o'clock  at  night  I  was 
taken  out  of  the  den  and  brought  before  my  former  acquaint- 
ance, the  Stadthalter,  with  whom  I  had  quite  a  friendly  con- 
versation, more  seeking  information  on  his  part  than  as  an 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  49 

examination.  I  complained  bitterly  about  the  place  of  my 
confinement,  which  I  think  had  not  been  known  to  him,  and 
he  told  me  that  he  would  send  me  to  a  more  comfortable  place;  he 
also  said  he  did  not  desire  to  punish  or  expel  me,  but  be  was 
obliged  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  priests,  whose  influence  was 
very  great.  A  policeman  was  now  ordered  to  take  me  to  new 
quarters. 

How  fresh  and  invigorating  was  the  air  when  we  stepped 
out  into  the  street!  The  extreme  pleasure  in  some  degree 
compensated  me  for  what  I  had  endured.  I  walked  alongside 
of  my  new  conductor  until  we  reached  a  prison  situated  ip  the 
upper  part  of  town,  where  I  was  received  by  the  jailor  and 
introduced  to  four  genteel  looking  young  men,  who  occupied 
two  rooms  in  the  building.  My  now  friends  were  quite  pleased 
to  see  me,  and,  bringing  up  their  seats  close  to  mine, 
inquired  in  a  friendly  and  confidential  way  "what  I  was  in 
for."  I  told  them  it  was  for  preaching,  which  caused  them  to 
look  at  each  other  rather  dubiously,  as  much  as  to  say,  "that 
story  won't  do,"  but  I  afterwards  explained  matters  more 
fully,  and  I  think  satisfied  them  with  the  facts. 

There  were  two  beds  in  one  room  and  one  in  the  other,  all 
clean  and  neat,  although  made  every  morning  by  the  prisoners 
themselves,  this  labor  being  one  of  the  duties  of  the  prisoners. 
My  companions  desired  me  to  occupy  the  single  bed  while  they 
occupied  the  two  in  the  other  room.  This  was  kind  and 
acceptable,  and  before  I  lay  down  I  rejoiced  in  expressing  my 
great  thanks  to  God,  the  giver  of  all  good,  for  His  kindness 
unto  me,  and  in  so  ordering,  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
sleeping  in  peace.  Indeed,  although  it  may  seem  strange,  I 
was  grateful  for  the  privilege  of  resting  from  the  anxiety  and 
suspense  to  which  I  had  so  long  been  subjected.  It  was  a 
kind  of  relief  to  be  in  prison  under  the  circumstances,  especi- 
ally as  I  felt  that  I  had  done  all  the  good  my  opportunities 
permitted,  although  there  were  some  serious  doubts  in  my 
mind  as  to  when  I  might  obtain  my  freedom. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  in  Switzerland  then,  and  in 
other  European  countries,   a  man   might  be  imprisoned  on 
suspicion  at  any  time,  without  any  certainty  as  to  when  he 
2* 


50  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


might  be  liberated.  I  slept  well,  and  arose  early,  agreeable 
with  our  prison  regulations.  Our  first  work  was  bod-making, 
which  had  to  be  done  well,  as  it  was  afterwards  inspected.  It 
was  here  I  took  my  first  lesson  in  that  domestic  labor,  and  as 
I  appeared  awkward  in  my  first  movements,  one  of  my  com- 
panions kindly  offered  to  assist  me.  My  companions  were  all 
respectable-looking  and  well-dressed  young  men,  and  supported 
by  the  canton,  as  they  told  me,  for  stealing.  Three  had  been 
hotel  waiters.  They  were  cheerful  and  entertaining,  and, 
during  the  time  I  remained  with  them,  treated  me  with  the 
utmost  consideration.  One  of  them,  a  mimic,  diverted  us 
daily  with  exhibitions  of  the  walk  and  social  manners  of  men 
of  different  nationalities,  which  were  exceedingly  good  and 
helped  to  pass  away  the  time,  and  I,  when  opportunities 
offered  and  sometimes  at  their  own  request,  encouraged  them 
to  live  a  better  life,  and  taught  them  some  of  the  principles 
of  the  gospel. 

There  was  one  serious  trouble;  we  were  always  hungry, 
being  only  half  fed.  Our  meals  were  served  with  due  regu- 
larity, and  consisted  of  a  little  gruel  and  a  small  portion  of 
bread  for  breakfast,  of  potatoes  and  sometimes  sour  krout 
with  a  very  small  piece  of  meat  for  dinner,  and  gruel  and 
bread,  as  a  change,  for  supper,  but  not  half  enough  at  any 
time.  No  matter  what  position  we  occupied,  or  what  we  were 
doing,  as  soon  as  the  key  rattled  in  the  door  about  meal  times 
we  were  on  the  alert  and  ready.  I  had  spent  four  days  and 
three  nights  in  prison,  when  one  day  the  jailor  came  in  at  an 
unusual  time  and  said,  "Mr.  Budge,  you  are  at  liberty  to  go. " 
I  was  not  told  why  I  was  imprisoned,  nor  why  I  was  set  at 
liberty,  and  I  asked  no  questions,  but,  taking  leave  of  my  com- 
panions, walked  out  into  the  street  a  free  man.  1  found 
Brother  Savage  at  liberty.  The  Saints  had  only  that  morning 
learned  where  we  were  in  custody.  Brother  Savage,  after  the  first 
day's  imprisonment,  had  been  obliged  to  consort  with  vile 
characters  and  in  addition  to  other  inconveniences  had  to 
endure  the  noise  of  their  riotous  conduct.  In  a  day  or  two  he 
left  for  Lausanne,  expressing  the  natural  kindliness  of  his  dis- 
position towards  me  and  wishes  for  my  safety,  as  I  thought  it 


MY  S  WISS  MISSION.  51 

best  to  remain  in  Zurich,   at  least  until  I  received  another 
notice  to  leave. 

There  was  still  no  news  from  Berne  with  regard  to  myself, 
although  I  looked  for  immediate  results  after  the  dispatch  of 
my  last  letter  to  the  ambassador,  and  I  continued  to  attend 
meetings  and  instruct  the  people,  taking  special  pains  to 
inform  them  in  regard  to  the  organization  of  the  Church  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Priesthood  in  its  varied  callings,  foreseeing 
the  probability  of  their  being  left  to  themselves,  at  least  for  a 
time.  I  was  naturally  in  a  state  of  suspense,  although  the 
authorities  made  no  new  movement.  I  moved  about  very 
quietly  among  the  Saints  and  others,  subjecting  myself  to 
such  inconveniences  as  were  necessary  to  enable  me  to  do  my 
duty,  the  newspapers  in  the  meantime  still  keeping  the  people 
in  a  state  of  excitement  about  the  "Mormons." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PROGRESS  IN  LEARNING  TO  SPEAK  GERMAN — COMMUNICA- 
TION FROM  THE  BRITISH  AMBASSADOR — NOTIFIED  TO 
LEAVE  ZURICH— GO  TO  SCHAFFHAUSEN — THE  FALLS  OF 
THE  RHINE — UNABLE  TO  OBTAIN  PERMISSION  TO  REMAIN 
IN  THE  CANTON — SEEK  ANOTHER  PLACE  OF  RETREAT- 
LODGE  WITH  A  FAMILY  OF  SAINTS — DIFFICULTY  IN  KEEP- 
ING SECLUDED — CALLED  TO  GENEVA — RETURN  TO  ENG- 
LAND. 

THE  Saints  in  Zurich  and  vicinity  were  enjoying  much  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  rejoicing  greatly  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ;  they  were  beginning  to  comfort  themselves 
with  hopes  that  I  might  be  permitted,  after  all,  to  remain 
among  them  unmolested ;  and  I  was,  under  the  blessing  of 
Grod,  making  such  progress  in  conversation  as  encouraged  me 
in  hopes  of  being  still  more  useful,  when  at  length  I  received 
the  following  communication  from  the  British  ambassador: 


62  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

''Berne,  January  11,  1855. 

"Sir: — I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
the  20th  ult.,  and  of  your  passport  transmitted  to  me 
therein. 

"The  information  conveyed  in  that  letter,  that  you  belonged 
to  the  sect  denominated  'Mormons,'  and  the  indication  it  con- 
tained that  you  were  in  the  habit  of  preaching  its  doctrines, 
alike  revolting  and  opposed  to  civilization  and  religion,  led  me 
to  anticipate  the  results  of  my  application  to  the  Federal 
Council  for  explanation  as  to  the  motive  of  your  threatened 
expulsion  from  the  canton  of  Zurich.  But  having  requested 
such  an  explanation  at  the  hands  of  the  authorities  here.  I 
thought  it  right  to  allow  the  matter  to  take  its  course  and  I 
therefore  waited  until  I  should  receive  from  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil a  reply  to  the  note  I  had  written  on  the  subject.  This  reply 
I  only  received  yesterday  morning  and  I  was  fully  prepared  for 
the  tenor  of  its  contents.  These  are  in  brief  to  the  effect, 
that  Mormonism  has  lately  been  on  the  increase  in  the  canton 
of  Zurich,  and  its  preaching  and  ceremonial  acts  have  given 
rise  to  disorders  in  one  locality  on  account  of  their  immoral 
tendency,  so  that  the  police  had  deemed  it  necessary  to  refuse  to 
the  two  Mormon  teachers  permission  to  reside  in  the  canton; 
that  you  are  one  of  these  teachers,  that  you  have  hitherto 
residedin  the  district  without  legal  permission  to  do  so,  and 
that  it  is  the  refusal  to  grant  you  such  permission  (which  is 
required  by  Zurich  law  for  Swiss  citizens  as  well  as  foreigners 
and  may  be  refused  by  the  authorities  to  any  one  on  just 
causes)  of  which  you  now  complain. 

"It  is  further  observed  in  the  note  of  the  Federal  Council, 
that  the  Grovernment  of  Zurich,  considering  that  Budge 
belongs  to  the  sect  of  the  Mormons,  and  devotes  himself  to 
the  propagation  of  their  tenets,  that  among  these  is  found 
polygamy — a  state  of  things  incompatible  with  the  basis  of 
social  and  family  life  in  the  above  canton,  and.  lastly,  that  the 
preaching  of  these  individuals  has  occasioned  disorder,  is  of 
the  opinion  that  the  determination  of  the  police  of  Zurich  is 
fully  justified. 

"The  Federal  Council  itself  approves  of  this  deter- 
mination on  the  part  of  the  Grovernment  of  Zurich,  and  is  of 
opinion  that  there  are  no  grounds  for  any  longer  delay  being 
allowed,  previous  to  your  being  ordered  to  quit  the  canton. 
This  decision  was  transmitted  to  Zurich  by  last  night's 
post. 

"Coinciding  as  I  do  in  the  estimate  formed  of  the  pernicious 
doctrines  held  and  disseminated  by  you,  according  to  your  own 
admission  in  your  letter  to  me  of  the  20th  of  December,  and 


MY  SWISS  MISSION.  53 

considering:  that  a  Swiss  citizen  acting  in  a  similar  manner 
would  meet  with  precisely  similar  treatment,  I  can  see  that  I 
should  not  be  authorized  in  interfering  in  any  way  as  the  queen's 
representative  here,  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  order  of 
the  Zurich  authorities — that  you  should  leave  the  canton  imme- 
diately. If  you  will  follow  my  recommendation  you  will  com- 
ply quietly  with  the  order  you  have  received,  and  in  selecting 
your  destination,  if  j'ou  should  still  remain  in  Switzerland,  you 
will  do  well  to  recollect  that  other  cantons  have  the  same  laws 
in  this  respect  as  Zurich  and  that  wherever  you  go  it  will  be 
advisable  for  you  to  refrain  from  preaching  doctrines,  which, 
whatever  may  be  your  own  belief,  are  abominated  as  in  the 
highest  degree  blasphemous  and  immoral,  by  the  whole  civil- 
ized world.  I  retain  your  pa'-sport  in  case  you  should  wish  to 
have  it  signed  by  me,  to  render  it  valid  for  any  particular  route 
.you  may  decide  on  taking,  and  I  will  transmit  it  to  you  on 
learning  your  intentions.  I  am,  sir  your  obedient  servant, 
"G.  Y.  R.  Gordon, 

"H.  B.  Majesty's  Minister. 
"To  Mr.  William  Budge,  Zurich." 

The  strong  prejudice  of  the  ambassador  is  very  apparent  in 
the  opening  lines  of  his  letter.  The  idea  is  conveyed,  that  he 
would  not  have  made  any  application  at  all  on  my  behalf  if  he 
had  known  that  I  was  a  "Mormon,"  that  fact  apart  from  the 
merits  of  the  question  at  issue  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
cause  him  to  neglect  his  duty  as  a  protector  of  his  countrymen 
and  their  interests ;  but,  having  requested  such  an  explana- 
tion at  the  hands  of  the  authorities,  he  "thought  it  right  to 
allow  the  matter  to  take  its  course."  I  thought  as  much  when 
I  wrote  my  first  letter,  therefore  made  my  protest  urgent,  and 
refrained  from  introducing  any  religious  consideration  until 
he  would  commit  himself  in  an  effort  to  do  me  justice. 

The  reply  of  the  Federal  Council  as  quoted,  contained 
several  misrepresentations,  but  without  them  there  would 
have  been  no  showing  of  necessity  or  consistency  in  expelling 
a  stranger  from  a  '  'free  republic. ' '  The  disorders  referred  to 
were  the  acts  of  native  mobocrats  without  provocation,  and 
there  was  no  more  immorality  about  the  baptism  of  believers 
into  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  than  the 
baptism  of  people  into  a  Baptist  community.  It  was  not 
necessary  to  refuse  the  two  "Mormon  teachers  permission  to 


54  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

reside  in  the  canton,"  as  we  had  duly  deposited  our  passports 
and  met  all  requirements  made  upon  us  by  the  authorities, 
and  therefore  did  not  ask  for  permission,  which  we  had  long 
enjoyed. 

In  regard  to  polygamy,  we  did  not  teach  it  and  had  testified 
before  the  authorities  that  we  had  no  disposition  or  authority, 
even  if  we  had  the  power,  to  interfere  with  social  life  in  the 
canton,  by  advising  the  practice  of  our  marrige  views.  It  was 
true  that  "Mormonism"  was  increasing  and  also  the  rage  of 
the  priests  proportionately,  and  as  something  had  to  be  done 
to  satisfy  them,  the  rulers  gave  an  unrighteous  decision, 
which  was  endorsed  by  a  narrow-minded  British  minister. 

In  a  day  or  two  after  the  ambassador's  letter  was  received, 
I  was  summoned  before  the  police  and  received  peremptory 
orders  to  leave  the  canton  in  three  days,  or  I  would  be 
arrested. 

At  last  I  was  obliged  to  leave  Zurich,  and  all  our  friends 
were  full  of  grief  on  account  of  the  determination  of  the 
authorities  to  drive  us  from  the  country.  I  had  been  pursuing 
my  studies  at  all  convenient  opportunities  and  was  able  now  to 
teach  the  Saints  with  more  freedom,  and  since  Elder  Mayer's 
departure,  the  responsibility  of  the  work  in  this  part  of  the 
mission  had  devolved  upon  me.  The  interest  I  felt  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  Saints  was  deep  and  abiding,  and  I  sought 
the  help  of  the  Lord  to  enable  me  to  instruct  them  in  those 
things  which  were  most  necessary  under  the  circumstances, 
feeling  as  we  all  did,  that  I  would  probably  soon  leave  them. 
I  felt  the  importance  of  the  work  being  sustained  in  German 
Switzerland,  so  I  determined  to  go  no  further  away  than  was 
absolutely  necessary. 

On  January  16,  1855,  I  left  Zurich  for  Schaffhausen,  and 
arrived  there  the  next  day,  having  walked  part  of  the  way.  I 
had  an  introduction  from  a  sister  to  a  family  in  this  place  on 
whom  I  called  and  by  whom  I  was  kindly  received,  but  it  was 
necessary  for  me  to  obtain  permission  to  lodge  with  my  friends; 
I  therefore  visited  the  police  office  and  explained  that  my 
passport  was  in  the  hands  of  the  ambassador  and  would  reach 
me  soon,  and  they  concluded,  "as  an  obligation,"  that  I  might 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  55 

stay  in  town  one  night  without  it.  On  the  second  day  of  my 
arrival  I  was  summoned  before  the  police  and  examined,  and 
had  to  telegraph  to  the  ambassador,  who  replied  that  the  pass- 
port was  on  the  way,  which  for  the  time  prevented  me,  I  sup- 
pose, from  being  locked  up. 

My  passport  arriving  on  the  20th,  I  went  to  the  police  office 
and  presented  it,  was  closely  questioned,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  there  was  not  liberty  enough  to  teach  the  truth  in 
this  place.  Schaff hausen  is  near  the  line  between  Switzerland 
and  Germany,  which  accounts  for  the  unusual  severity  of  its 
regulations.  I  was  in  hope  of  doing  some  good,  as  the  neigh- 
bors continued  visiting  my  lodgings  to  see  and  talk  with  the 
"Englishman,"  and  smoke  their  pipes.  In  talking  we  could 
hear,  but  it  was  with  difficulty  sometimes,  when  there  were  a 
number  present,  to  see  each  other  through  the  smoke. 

Near  this  city  are  the  beautiful  Rhine  Falls  which  have  a 
world-wide  reputation.  I  here  introduce  the  following  brief 
description  of  these  beautiful  falls  from  a  work  lately  pub- 
lished : 

'  'The  falls  of  the  Khine,  near  Schaff  hausen  are  among  the 
largest  in  Europe.  Though  nothing  in  comparison  with  such 
falls  as  Niagara,  they  are  imposing  and  beautiful.  Shortly 
after  passing  the  pretty  town  of  Schaffhausen,  the  Rhine 
hastens,  hurrying  on  for  about  three  miles  narrrowed  between 
woody  knolls  and  low  rocks.  By  these  rocks,  in  the  pass  between 
Daschsen  and  Neuhausen,  the  river  is  divided  into  three  shoots, 
which  dash  down  a  depth  of  about  seventy  feet.  The  spectacle  of 
the  falls  is  exceedingly  fine  on  both  banks,  where  every  accom- 
modation is  equally  made  for  visitors  to  enjoy  the  scene. 

"A  fine  view  of  the  falls  is  obtained  from  the  garden  of  the 
castle  of  Laufen,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  It  is  immediately 
opposite  the  Schweizerhof,  from  which  visitors  can  cross  in  a 
ferry-boat,  fare  half  a  franc.  The  land  belongs  to  a  private 
family,  but,  by  contract  with  the  canton  of  Zurich,  strangers 
are  permitted  to  visit  the  castle  and  grounds ;  fee,  one  franc. 
A  wooden  balcony  overhangs  the  rush  of  waters.  The  actual 
fall  here  is  about  eighty  feet.  The  water's  division  into  three 
shoots  can  be  well  seen.  The  largest  body  of  water  falls  during 
the  months  of  June  and  July.  Although  this,  one  of  the 
finest  falls  in  Europe,  is  not  a  Niagara,  nevertheless  the  gen- 
eral landscape  is  superior  to  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Niagara 
falls.     The  range  ot  the  Alps  including  Mont  Blanc,  distant 


56  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

185  miles,  can  be  seen  from  this  point  and  this  alone  would  form 
a  feature  of  the  place." 

After  remaining  several  days  in  Schaffhausen  without  any 
apparent  results,  i  went  to  Weingarten  and  called  on  a  Brother 
Bonnelli,  of  whom  I  had  heard,  and  was  received  by  the  fam- 
ily with  great  kindness.  This  brother  took  my  passport  to 
the  village  authority,  and  was  surprised  when  that  dignitary 
questioned  him  closely  and  declared  that  I  was  a  "Mormon." 
He  was  angry  with  Brother  Bonnelli  for  entertaining  me,  but 
eventually  sent  a  permit  allowing  me  to  lodge  at  their  house 
and  retained  my  passport. 

I  visited  and  conversed  with  Saints  and  strangers  for  several 
days  in  Weingarten  when  quite  unexpectedly  I  was  summoned 
before  the  Stadthalter^  where  I  received  my  passport  and  a 
notice  to  leave  the  canton  of  Thurgau  in  two  days.  The  Stadt- 
halters  instructions  contained  no  reason  therefor,  but  he 
informed  me  it  was  because  I  was  a  "Mormon."  It  was  the 
settled  policy  of  the  cantons  to  drive  the  Elders  out  of  the 
country,  and  the  decision  of  the  federal  government  as  given 
in  my  case,  when  expelled  from  Zurich,  sustained  them.  The 
papers  published  every  movement  made  by  the  authorities,  and 
all  strangers  being  obliged  to  deposit  their  passports  at  the 
nearest  office  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  stay  where  they 
desired  to  settle  or  lodge  for  the  time,  it  was  impossible  to 
remain  long  undiscovered.  To  lodge  in  any  house  without  the 
legal  permit,  providing  the  family  were  willing,  subjected 
them  to  fine  or  imprisonment,  and  this  was  not  desirable.  I 
fully  considered  the  circumstances  and  probabilities  in  the 
spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication  to  my  Heavenly  Father  that 
He  might  guide  and  preserve  me  in  my  efforts  to  remain  in 
Switzerland  until  His  servants  were  satisfied  with  the  efforts 
made  to  sustain  the  Church  and  warn  the  people.  It  was 
true  that  President  Tyler  had  left  the  responsibility  with  me 
as  to  what  I  ought  to  do,  but  I  was  not  yet  quite  satisfied, 
and  finally  determined  to  return  to  a  small  village  on  the  Lake 
of  Zurich,  where  a  faithful  family  of  Saints  resided  and  where 
I  might  live  unknown  for  a  season,  except  to  the  family,  in 
whom  I  had  great  confidence.     How  to  get  there  was  the 


MV  SWISS  MISSION.  67 

question  to  be  solved.  On  receiving  my  passport,  when  asked 
where  I  was  going  as  was  usual,  I  replied  to  St.  Gall,  such 
being  my  intention  at  the  time,  and  the  endorsement  was  made 
accordingly,  but  on  reflection  it  was  almost  certain  that  my 
intention  would  be  known  in  St.  Gall  before  I  could  get  there 
myself.  To  go  to  Kussnacht  (the  village  on  the  lake),  which 
was  almost  in  an  opposite  direction  to  St.  Gall,  would  proba- 
bly be  fatal  to  my  liberty  if  my  passport  should  be  examined. 
My  first  movement  from  Weingarten  towards  my  place  of 
refuge  would  also  bring  me  into  the  canton  of  Zurich,  from 
which  I  had  been  twice  expelled ;  but  if  I  could  spend  one 
night  on  the  journey  safely,  I  had  strong  hopes  of  making  the 
trip  without  detection. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  February  I  left  Brother 
Bonnelli's  house  with  regret,  as  we  were  doing  good  and  the 
prospect  was  encouraging.  It  rained  all  day  and  was  very 
muddy  under  foot.  I  therefore  concluded  to  remain  for  the 
night  at  a  small  town  named  Elgg.  It  was  evening.  I 
walked  into  a  respectable  looking  hotel  and  arranged  for  sup- 
per and  lodging.  The  people  were  obliging,  but  to  save 
trouble  I  concluded  not  to  use  any  more  German  than  a  few 
words,  such  as  any  traveler  is  supposed  to  pick  up  in  a  few 
days.  After  drying  my  clothes  a  little,  as  they  were  wet 
through  with  rain,  I  sat  down  to  supper.  Men  were  coming 
and  going  during  the  evening  as  is  usual  in  such  places  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  They  come  to  chat  with  their  neigh- 
bors, read  the  papers,  smoke  and  drink  beer.  I  noticed  a 
man  sitting  at  the  table  opposite  me.  He  had  been  there 
some  time,  although  we  had  not  spoken  to  each  other.  The 
man  at  length  said  to  the  waiter— of  course  in  German — "You 
have  a  stranger  here." 

"Yes,"  the  waiter  replied,  "an  Englishman,  but  he  cannot 
speak  German." 

That  was  satisfactory  to  me  as  I  went  on  with  my  supper, 
but  directly  after,  the  man  looking  over  to  me,  said  (in  Ger- 
man), "You  are  an  Englishman,  I  believe?" 

"Ein  Englaender,"  I  replied,  wishing  to  break  off  the  con- 
versation, when,  to  my  astonishment,  he  addressed  me  in  pretty 


68  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

good  English.  After  asking  several  questions  which  led  to  an 
agreeable  conversation,  he  informed  me  that  he  was  the 
chief  authority  of  the  village,  and  then  requested  to  look 
at  my  passport,  which  I  at  once  handed  him,  but  as  I  at  the 
moment  complimented  him  on  the  ease  and  fluency  with  which 
he  spoke  English  (which  seemed  to  gratify  him),  he  probably 
did  not  notice  that,  according  to  the  last  endorsement  which 
was  written  upon  the  document,  I  should  have  been  on  my 
way  to  St.  Gall.  My  friend  returned  the  passport  good- 
naturedly,  signifying  his  approval  and  stating  that  my  staying 
at  the  hotel  for  the  night  was  all  right. 

I  was  up  early  the  next  morning  and  had  breakfast,  but  it 
rained  so  heavily  that  I  was  detained  an  hour  or  two  at  the 
inn.  On  this  day's  journey  I  passed  through  Winterthur  and 
reached  Zurich,  as  I  intended,  just  as  it  became  dark,  and 
passed  through  to  Kussnacht,  distance  during  the  day 
twenty-seven  miles,  but  the  walking  was  heavy  as  the  roads 
were  bad,  and  the  snow  was  in  many  places  over  eighteen  inches 
deep.  The  kind  reception  which  I  met  with  from  Brother 
and  Sister  Elleker  and  family  filled  me  with  gratitude  to  Grod 
and  to  them,  and  I  had  need  of  their  attention  as  I  was  com- 
pletely worn  out.  I  remained  with  this  most  excellent  family 
until  the  eighth  day  of  March,  in  the  strictest  seclusion, 
except  when  visited  by  a  brother  occasionally,  from  Zurich. 
The  family  were  silk-ribbon  weavers  and  had  necessarily  occa- 
sional callers.  My  apartment  was  up-stairs,  but  it  was  lone- 
some, and  as  there  were  no  arrangements  for  warming  the 
rooms,  I  went  below  to  the  sitting  room  as  often  as  I  could 
with  safety.  In  doing  this  I  had  some  narrow  escapes  from 
being  seen,  as  to  return  to  my  room  it  was  necessary  to  pass 
through  a  passage-way  in  view  of  the  front  door.  It  is  a  very 
difficult  thing  for  a  person  to  keep  hid  in  a  country  like  this, 
for  a  stranger  is  readily  observed,  and  had  the  neighbors'  sus- 
picions been  once  awakened,  my  hours  of  liberty  would  have 
been  few,  and  my  protectors  brought  into  serious  trouble.  As 
is  common  in  many  houses  in  Switzerland,  Brother  EUeker's 
sitting  room  was  warmed  by  an  oven  projecting  out  from  the 
wall,  the  mouth  of  the  furnace  being  in  another  apartment. 


Ml-  SWISS  MTSSION.  59 

The  projection  was  probably  not  less  than  five  by  four  feet, 
and  in  hight  reached  from  the  floor  to  within  eighteen  inches 
or  two  feet  of  the  ceiling.  This  is  covered  on  the  sides  and  end 
with  enameled  pottery  ware.  The  heat  from  the  inside  makes 
this  oven  a  very  desirable  place  to  lean  against  in  cold 
weather.  In  addition  to  other  uses  the  people  dry  chicory  on 
the  top  of  the  oven,  which  is  flat,  before  grinding  it  to  use 
instead  of  cofi"ee.  At  Brother  Elleker's,  one  side  of  the  oven  was 
near  the  wall  of  the  house,  leaving  room  for  a  number  of  narrow 
steps  leading  to  the  top.  These  steps  were  a  favorite  resting- 
place  for  me,  as  by  going  up  a  step  or  two  I  could  not  be  seen, 
unless  a  visitor  came  well  round  into  the  room;  if  one  did  or 
was  likely  to  do  so,  I  got  on  top  of  the  oven  where  I  was 
entirely  hid,  as  a  curtain  covered  the  space  between  the  top  of 
the  oven  and  the  ceiling.  A  neighbor  woman  came  in  one 
day  whose  movements  were  suspicious  and  I  got  on  the  top, 
but  it  happened  that  the  top  was  entirely  covered  with  small 
pieces  of  chicory,  quite  dry  and,  of  course,  very  hard.  There 
being  no  time  to  consider  comfort,  I  was  quickly,  hands  and 
knees,  on  the  ragged  edges  of  the  dried  root,  and,  to  my  con- 
sternation, from  under  the  curtain  I  saw  the  woman  deliber- 
ately plant  herself  against  the  side  of  the  oven.  You  may 
imagine  my  condition,  as  the  heat  was  oppressive  and  the 
chicory  to  my  feelings  got  every  moment  harder.  Sister  Elle- 
ker  did  her  best  to  get  rid  of  her  neighbor,  without  telling  her 
to  go,  and  when  she  succeeded  I  came  down  the  steps  without 
the  least  approach  to  hilarity  in  my  disposition. 

Shortly  after  arriving  at  Brother  Elleker's  I  was  in  commu- 
nication with  a  tisw  of  the  leading  brethren  in  Zurich,  and 
one  at  a  time  would  occasionally  come  and  see  me,  the  distance 
being  only  five  or  six  miles,  and  I  availed  myself  of  every 
opportunity  to  instruct  them  in  their  duties.  I  also  kept  Pres- 
ident Tyler  acquainted  occasionally  with  my  whereabouts  and 
condition. 

On  March  8th  I  received  a  telegram  from  President  Tyler, 
desiring  me  to  come  to  him  at  Greneva,  which  I  at  once  pre- 
pared to  do.  I  had  become  somewhat  uneasy,  as  the  visits  of 
the  brethren,  although  made  with  great  caution,  were  being 


60  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


noticed  by  the  neighbors,  and  I  was  satisfied  I  could  not  at 
present  forward  the  cause  to  any  great  extent,  not  enough  to 
justify  the  constant  risk  to  myself  and  others.  I  and  other 
Elders  had  been  in  all  the  Protestant  German  cantons,  but  two 
or  three  which  we  were  not  warranted  in  visiting,  as  they  were 
strongly  prejudiced  and  only  in  name  remov6d  from  the  bigotry 
and  bitterness  of  Catholicism,  and  we  had  been  expelled  from, 
or  prohibited  from  teaching  in  all  we  had  visited ;  and  during 
the  last  three  months  I  had  been  summoned  before  the  police 
authorities  in  different  places  no  less  than  thirteen  times. 

I  bade  my  kind  friends  an  affectionate  ftirewell  and  blessed 
them  for  their  kindness  and  consideration  which  they  had 
manifested  towards  me.  and  in  a  few  days  was  united  with  my 
brethren  in  Geneva  again. 

Brother  Tyler  had  written  to  President  F.  D.  Richards,  at 
Liverpool,  in  regard  to  my  future  labors,  as  there  was  no  open- 
ing then  in  Switzerland,  suggesting  that  there  might  be  an 
opportunity  to  open  up  the  work  in  Germany,  but  the  result  of 
the  correspondence  was  the  decision  that  I  should  return  to 
England  for  the  present. 


With  regard  to  the  feelings  of  the  Swiss  nation,  within  the  last  thirty 
years  the  policy  of  tne  government  and  the  sentiment  of  the  people  have 
undergo  DC  a  great  change  in  favor  of  liberty.  In  1876,  Elder  J.  U.  Stiicki, 
then  prfsidtnt  of  the  Swiss  and  German  Missions,  was  summoned  before  a 
district  judge  for  certain  expressions  relating  to  polygamy,  in  a  pamphlet 
which  he  had  publibhed,  and  he  was  fined  fifty  francs  and  an  order  was  made 
for  the  confiscation  of  the  boo 6c.  Elder  Stuck i  appealed  to  the  supreme 
court  of  the  canton  (Berne)  which  confirmed  the  decision  of  the 
lower  court;  but  tbe  decision  of  the  judges  not  being  unanimous,  Brother 
Stucki,  encouraged,  carried  the  case  before  the  supreme  court  of  the  nation, 
which  reversed  the  two  form^^r  rulings— a  result  which  led  to  much  inquiry  by 
strangers  at,d  renew  ed  prosperity  for  the  Church. 

I  visited  Switzerland  again  in  1879,  visiting  Schafi'hausen,  Wienfelden, 
Zurich,  Berne  and  many  other  places,  attending  public  meetings  without 
using  a  passport  at  all,  u'though  I  had  one  with  me. 

Within  the  last  few  weeks,  in  answer  to  an  application  for  the  repression  of 
"Mormouism"  in  Berne  Oberlaud  (the  district  from  which  Elder 
Secrist  was  expelled  in  1854)  the  authorities  declared  in  effect,  that  the 
Latter-day  Saints  had  as  much  right  to  preach  their  doctrines  as  any  other 
religious  denomination  had  to  expound  theirs. 


MF  SWISS  MISSION.  61 

I  remained  in  Geneva  until  the  20th  of  April,  1855,  (expect- 
ing to  take  a  small  party  of  Italian  Saints  from  Lj^ons  to  Liverpool, 
on  their  way  to  the  valleys  of  TJtah,  but  circumstances  pre- 
vented their  coming),  when  I  left  for  England  by  way  ©f  Dijon 
and  Paris,  where  I  duly  arrived  after  an  absence  of  seven 
months. 


THE  FAITH  OF  THE  ZUNIS, 


BY  LLEWELLYN    HARRIS. 


TRADITIONS  OF  THE  ZUNIS— THREE  CHILDREN  HEALED — 
ADMINISTER  TO  406  INDIANS  WHO  WERE  ATTACKED  WITH 
THE  SMALL-POX,  MOST  OF  WHOM  RECOVER — OPPOSED  BY 
A  PRESBYTERIAN  MINISTER  AND  OTHERS — FATE  OF 
MY  OPPOSERS. 

I  ARRIVED  at  the  Zuni  village  on  the  20th  of  January, 
1878,  on  my  way  to  the  Mexican  settlements,  to  preach  the 
gospel. 

Circumstances  caused  me  to  stay  at  Zuni  eight  days,  thus 
giving  me  an  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  their  ti;i- 
ditions,  customs  and  history. 

They  say  that,  before  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  the  Span- 
iards, the  Zuni  Indians  lived  in  Mexico.  Some  of  them  still 
claim  to  be  the  descendants  of  Montezuma.  At  the  time  of 
the  conquest  they  fled  to  Arizona,  and  settled  there.  They 
were  at  one  time  a  very  i)owerful  tribe,  as  the  ruins  all  over 
that  part  of  the  country  testify.  They  have  always  been  con- 
sidered a  v«ry  industrious  i^eople.  The  fact  that  they  have  at 
one  time  been  in  a  state  of  civilization  far  in  advance  of  what 
they  are  at  present,  is  estabhshed  beyond  a  doubt.  Before  the 
Catholic  religion  was  introduced  among  them,  they  worshiped 
the  sun.     At  present  they  are  nearly  ail  Catholics.     A  few  of 


62  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

them  have  been  baptized  into  our  Church  by  Brothers  Amnion 
M.  Tenney'and  R.  H.  Smith,  and  nearly  all  the  tribe  say  they 
are  going  to  be  baptized. 

They  have  a  great  many  words  in  the  language  like  the 
Welsh,  and  with  the  same  meaning. 

Their  tradition  says  that  over  three  hundred  years  before  the 
conquest  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards,  some  white  men  landed 
in  Mexico  and  told  the  Indians  that  they  had  come  from  the 
regions  beyond  the  sea  to  the  east.  They  say  that  from  these 
white  men  came  the  ancient  kings  of  Mexico,  from  whom 
Montezuma  descended. 

These  white  men  were  known  to  the  Indians  of  Mexico  by 
the  name  of  Camharaga ;  and  are  still  remembered  so  in  the 
traditions  of  the  Zuni  Indians.  In  time  those  white  people 
became  mixed  with  Indians,  by  marriage,  until  scarcely  a 
relic  of  tliem  remained.  A  few  traditions  of  the  Mexican 
Indians  and  a  few  Welsh  words  amonsr  the  Zunis,  Nava- 
ios,  and  Moquises  are  all  that  can  be  found  of  that  people 
now. 

I  have  the  history  of  the  ancient  Britons,  which  speaks  of 
Prince  Madoc,  who  was  the  son  of  Owen  Guynedd,  king  of 
Wales,  having  sailed  from  Wales,  in  the  year  1160,  with  three 
ships.  He  returned  in  the  j^ear  1163,  saying  he  had  found  a 
beautiful  country,  across  the  western  sea. 

He  left  Wales  again  in  the  year  1164  with  fifteen  ships  and 
three  thousand  men.     He  was  never  again  heard  of 

The  circumstances  of  the  healing  of  the  Indians  who  were 
affected  with  the  small  pox,  which  occurred  during  my  stay 
among  the  Zunis,  are  as  follows: 

I  put  up  with  a  Zuni  Indian  known  as  Captain  Lochee,  who 
had  three  children  sick  with  the  small-pox.  After  I  had  been 
asleep  two  or  three  hours,  I  was  awakened  by  the  cries  of  the 
family  and  some  of  the  neighbors  who  had  come  in.  I  arose 
and  inquired  the  cause  of  the  crying,  and  was  informed  by 
Captain  Lochee  that  his  daughter,  a  child  of  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  was  dying.  I  saw  she  was  gasping  for  breath.  I 
felt  like  administering  to  her  then,  but  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
prompted  me  to  wait  a  little  longer.     I  waited  until  she  had 


THE  FAITH  OF  THE  ZUNIS. 


done  gasping  and  did  not  appear  to  breathe.  Tiie  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  moved  upon  me  very  strongly  to  administer  to  her, 
which  I  did ;  she  revived  and  slept  well  the  remainder  of  the 
night.  I  also  administered  to  the  other  two  who  were  sick  in 
the  same  house  that  night.  All  was  quiet  the  remainder  of 
the  night,  and  all  seemed  much  better  in  the  morning.  The 
news  of  this  spread  through  the  town,  and  the  next  day  I  was 
called  to  visit  about  twenty-five  families,  all  of  whom  had  one 
or  more  sick  with  the  small-pox.  They  also  wished  me  to 
administer  to  the  sick,  which  I  did.  I  was  called  upon  to  visit 
from  ten  to  twenty  families  a  day  for  four  daj^s  after  my 
arrival,  and  administered  to  their  sick.  The  power  of  the 
Lord  was  made  manifest  to  such  a  degree  that  nearly  all  1 
administered  to  recovered.  The  disease  was  spreading  so 
rapidly  that  I  was  unable  to  visit  all  the  houses.  One  morning 
about  eight  o'clock  one  of  the  Zuni  women  came  for  me  to  go 
and  visit  the  sick ;  she  took  me  to  a  house  which  had  a  large 
room  in  it,  about  twenty  by  forty  feet.  When  I  entered  the 
room  I  found  they  had  gathered  the  sick  from  all  parts  of  the 
village,  till  they  had  completely  filled  the  house.  The  stench 
that  arose  and  the  horrible  sight  that  met  my  eyes  is  beyond 
description.  They  had  a  Spaniard  there,  who  understood  the- 
Zuni  language,  for  an  interpreter,  who  told  me  they  wanted 
me  to  administer  to  all  those  who  were  sick  in  the  room.  I 
being  the  only  Elder  in  the  village,  it  seemed  to  be  a  great  task 
to  administer  to  so  many,  but  I  called  on  the  Lord  to 
strengthen  me.  I  commenced,  and  as  fast  as  I  administered 
to  them  they  were  removed,  but  other  sick  ones  were  continu- 
ally being  brought  in.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  I 
could  perceive  that  they  began  to  diminish  in  numbers.  When 
I  had  administered  to  the  last  one  and  went  out,  the  sun  had 
set  and  it  was  getting  dark.  The  Spaniard  who  had  stayed 
there  all  day  asked  me  if  I  knew  how  many  I  had  prayed  for. 
I  told  him  that  I  did  not  keep  count ;  he  said  he  had,  and  that 
it  was  406.  The  next  morning  my  arms  were  so  sore  that  I 
could  hardly  move  them. 

There  was  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  the  village,  who  became 
jealous  of  the  influence  I  was  gaining  with  the  Indians.     He 


64  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

persuaded  two  Spaniards,  one  Navajo  Indian,  one  albino  Zuni, 
and  one  of  the  Zuni  medicine  men  to  circulate  lies  and  frighten 
the  Zunis,  telling  them  that  those  who  were  healed  were  healed 
by  the  power  of  the  devil. 

I  fielt  weak  from  the  effects  of  administering  so  much,  and, 
on  the  second  daj^  after  administering  to  the  406,  I  started  for 
the  settlement  in  Savoia  valley.  The  next  day  after  arriving 
in  Savoia  I  was  taken  down  with  a  severe  fever,  which  lasted 
about  a  week.  I  stopped  with  the  family  of  Brother  John 
Hunt,  who  treated  me  very  kindly.  It  was  about  three  weeks 
before  I  was  able  to  resume  my  journey  to  the  Mexican  settle- 
ments on  the  Rio  Grrande.  I  spent  about  four  months  preach- 
ing to  the  Mexican  people  in  New  Mexico.  When  I  arrived  at 
Savoia  on  my  return,  I  was  informed  by  the  brethren  that  the 
minister  who  opposed  me  at  Zuni  had  passed  there  and  was 
nearly  dead  with  the  consumption.  When  I  arrived  at  Zuni  I 
was  told  by  some  of  the  most  reliable  Zunis  that  all  to  whom  I 
had  administered  recovered,  excepting  five  or  six  that  the  min- 
ister gave  medicine  to,  and  four  or  fi.ve  that  the  medicine  man 
had  tried  to  cure  by  magic.  The  medicine  man  that  opposed 
me  had  died  during  my  absence,  and  the  Navajo  who  opposed 
me,  on  returning  home,  was  killed  by  his  people  to  keep 
the  small-pox  from  spreading  among  them. 

This  is  a  true  statement  of  the  manner  in  which  the  power 
of  God  was  made  manifest  among  the  Zunis,  and  also  the 
judgments  ot  God  which  followed  some  of  tho^e  who  opposed 
it.  It  seemed  that  I  was,  by  the  providence  of  God,  cast 
among  them ;  and  I  felt  that  I  was  one  of  the  weakest  of  my 
brethren,  and  to  ask  the  Lord  to  strengthen  me  if  it  was  His 
will  to  make  His  power  manifest  through  me.  If  the  Lord 
had  not  strengthened  me  I  could  not  have  borne  up  under  what 
I  passed  through  at  Zuni.  (Brother  Ammon  M.  Tenney,  who 
questioned  the  Indians  themselves  in  regard  to  this  miraculous 
event,  says  they  testify  as  a  body  to  the  truthfulness  of  the 
narrative. — Ed.) 


I 


SKETCH  OF  A   WELL-SPENT  LIFE.  65 


SKETCH  OF  A  WELL-SPENT 
LIFE. 


BY  HARRISON  BURGESS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MY  BIRTH  AND  CHILDHOOD— EMBRACE  THE  GOSPEL— A  VISION 
— GATHER  WITH  THE  SAINTS  AT  KIRTLAND — ZION'S  CASIP 
—MANIFESTATIONS  IN  THE  TEMPLE— THE  SAINTS  DRIVEN 
FROM  MISSOURI— THE  PROPHET  AND  PATRIARCH  MAR- 
TYRED—OUR JOURNEY  WE&TWARD — SENT  ON  A  MIS- 
SION. 

I  WAS  bom  September  3,  1814,  in  the  town  of  Putnam, 
Washington  Co.,  State  of  New  York.  I  lived  with  my 
parents  until  upwards  of  fourteen  years  of  age,  and,  being  the 
eldest  of  my  father's  family,  I  was  kept  constantly  at  work  and 
had  but  little  opportunity  of  acquiring  an  education.  My 
father  made  no  profession  of  religion,  but  led  a  moral  and  vir- 
tuous life.  My  childhood  was  not  marked  with  any  crime, 
although  I  paid  but  little  or  no  attention  to  religion  until  the 
seventeenth  year  of  my  age.  In  July,  1832,  when  I  first  heard 
the  fullness  of  the  gospel  proclaimed  by  Elder  Simeon  Carter,  I 
was  convinced  that  the  scriptures  were  true  and  that  the  Book  of 
Mormon  was  a  divine  revelation  from  heaven.  I  was  baptized 
and  spent  the  following  Winter  in  going  to  school,  working  for 
my  board  and  in  meeting  with  the  Saints.  In  the  Spring  of 
1833,  I  started  in  company  with  Brother  John  S.  Carter  to  the 
State  of  Vermont,  where  we  labored  about  two  months  and 
then  returned  to  New  York  State. 

On  the  third  Sabbath  in  May  while  speaking  to  a  congrega- 
tion I  declared  that  I  knew  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  the 


LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


work  of  God  were  true.  The  next  day  while  laboring  in  the  field 
something  seemed  to  whisper  to  me,  "Do  you  know  the  Book  of 
Mormon  is  true?"  My  mind  became  perplexed  and  darkened, 
and  I  was  so  tormented  in  spirit  that  I  left  my  work  and  retired 
into  the  woods.  The  misery  and  distress  that  I  there  expe- 
rienced cannot  be  described.  The  tempter  all  the  while  seemed 
to  say,  "Do  you  know  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  true?"  I 
remained  in  this  situation  about  two  hours.  Finally  I  resolved 
to  know,  by  exercising  faith  similar  to  that  which  the  brother 
of  Jared  posse>sed,  whether  I  had  proclaimed  the  truth  or  not, 
and  commenced  praying  to  the  Grod  of  heaven  for  a  testimony  of 
these  things.  Suddenly  a  glorious  personage  clothed  in  white 
stood  before  me  and  exhibited  to  my  view  the  plates  from  which 
the  Book  of  Mormon  was  taken. 

In  September,  1834,  I  started  with  my  father's  family  for 
Kirtland,  Ohio,  as  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  stay  to  transact 
some  business.  On  my  journey  I  accidentally  met  with  the 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  in  Springfield,  Pennsj'lvania;  1  there 
saw  him  for  the  first  time,  and  heard  him  preach.  1  arrived 
in  Kirtland  and  tarried  there  through  the  Winter,  during  which 
time  Brother  Joseph  received  a  revelation  calling  for  the 
strength  of  the  Lord's  house  to  go  to  Jackson  Co.,  Missouri, 
for  the  redemption  of  Zion.  I  was  one  among  the  rest  that 
volunteered  to  go  and  fulfill  this  commandment.  I  started  in 
March,  1834,  in  company  with  Joseph  Smith  and  others.  We 
had  a  long  and  tedious  journey,  and  arrived  in  Missouri  on  the 
last  of  June.  While  the  camp  tarried  there  Brother  Joseph 
received  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  revelation,  relative  to  the 
camp,  informing  us  that  we  were  not  to  fight  at  that  time;  that 
Zion  could  not  be  redeemed  then;  and  that  he  had  required  us 
to  come  thus  far,  as  a  trial  of  our  faith;  that  He  had  accepted 
of  our  off"ering,  etc.  Some  individuals  of  the  camp  felt  to 
murmur  at  this  decree,  and  wanted  to  fight  the  enemies  of 
God.  Brother  Joseph  said  the  Lord  would  send  a  scourge 
upon  us  in  consequence  of  this  unrighteous  feeling.  The 
cholera  was  upon  us  in  a  few  hours  after  this  prediction,  and  some 
eighteen  of  our  brethren  fell  victims  to  its  grasp.  Among  the 
number  that  1  attended  upon  and  hel])ed  to  bury  was  Brother 


SKETCH  OF  A   WELL-SPENT  LIFE.  67 

John  S.  Carter.  My  feelings  on  this  occasion  can  never  be 
described.  At  length  I  was  violently  seized  with  it  myself,  but 
through  faith  in  Grod  and  the  kind  assistance  of  Brother  Zera 
H.  Cole,  I  was  rescued  from  the  grasp  of  death. 

When  the  camp  broke  up  1  received  an  honorable  discharge 
from  Lyman  Wight,  our  commander-in-chief  After  this  I 
started  for  home  in  company  with  Heber  C.  Kimball  and 
several  others,  arriving  at  Kirtland,  Ohio,  about  the  last  of 
July.  I  found  my  friends  well  and  the  Saints  were  exerting 
themselves  to  the  utmost  in  their  poverty  to  build  the  Temple 
which  was  so  far  completed  that  1  received  my  endowments 
therein  in  the  Spring  of  1835.  The  Lord  blessed  His  people 
.abundantly  in  that  Temple  with  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,  the 
ministering  of  angels,  visions,  etc.  I  will  here  relate  a  vision 
which  was  shown  to  me.  It  was  near  the  close  of  the  endow- 
ments. I  was  in  a  meeting  for  instruction  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  Temple,  with  about  a  hundred  of  the  High  Priests,  Seven- 
ties and  Elders.  The  Saints  felt  to  shout  "Hosannah!"  and 
the  Spirit  of  Grod  rested  upon  me  in  mighty  power  and  I 
beheld  the  room  hghted  up  with  a  peculiar  light  such  as  I  had 
never  seen  before.  It  was  soft  and  clear  and  the  room  looked  to 
me  as  though  it  had  neither  roof  nor  floor  to  the  building  and 
I  beheld  the  Prophet  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith  and  Roger 
Orton  enveloped  in  the  light:  Joseph  exclaimed  aloud,  "I 
behold  the  Savior,  the  Son  of  God."  Hyrum  said,  "I  behold 
the  angels  of  heaven."  Brother  Orton  exclaimed,  "I  behold 
the  chariots  of  Israel. ' '  All  who  were  in  the  room  felt  the 
power  of  Grod  to  that  degree  that  many  prophesied,  and  the 
power  of  God  was  made  manifest,  the  remembrance  of  which 
will  remain  with  me  while  I  live  upon  the  earth. 

During  the  Winter  of  1836,  I  attended  a  high  school 
together  with  Brothers  Joseph  and  H^^rum  and  most  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  Church ;  it  was  a  fine  opportunity  for 
obtaining  knowledge.  The  evenings  were  mostly  spent  in 
meetings  for  instructions  on  the  principles  of  our  faith  and 
religion.  It  was  then  and  there  that  the  lectures  in  the  first 
part  of  the  book  of  Doctrine  and  Covenants  were  given.  Dur- 
ing this  Winter  and  Spring  the  members  of  Zion's  Camp  were 


P.8  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

called  together  to  receive  an  especial  blessing, '  according  to  a 
promise  which  had  been  made  in  the  before-mentioned  revela- 
tion. Out  of  this  number  most  of  the  Twelve  were  selected, 
and  also  the  first  Seventy,  of  which  latter  I  was  one.  We  had 
a  meeting  every  Saturday  to  bless  and  ordain  such  as  had  been 
called.  I  was  blessed  and  ordained  under  the  hands  of  Joseph 
Smith,  Jun.,  Joseph  Smith,  Sen.,  and  Sidney  Rigdon. 

I  started,  on  the  18th  of  April,  on  a  mission  to  New  York 
and  Vermont,  and  returned  home  September  20th ;  and  again, 
in  the  Winter  of  '37,  1  took  a  short  mission  to  Ohio  in  com- 
pany with  Lucius  N.  Scovil.  It  was  while  upon  this  mission 
that  we  heard  of  the  persecution  that  had  been  raised  against 
the  Church  in  which  the  printing  office  was  burned  and  that 
the  Church  were  leaving  for^Far  West,  Missouri.  We  returned 
home  immediately,  and  I  made  preparations  and  started  west 
with  my  family  on  the  26th  of  March,  in  company  with  several 
other  families  among  whom  was  Brother  Hyrum  Smith.  We 
had  an  exceedingly  hard  journey  in  consequence  of  a  great  deal 
of  rain  and  mud.  We  arrived  at  Far  West  the  27th  of  May, 
1 837.  The  next  day  I  went  to  Davies  county  with  Joseph  and 
Hyrum  Smith  and  some  others  to  look  out  a  new  location.  I 
remained  there  nine  days  and  helped  survey  the  site  for  a  city. 
As  a  reward  for  rendering  this  assistance  at  that  time  Brother 
Joseph  selected  me  a  very  fine  city  lot.  I  removed  my  family 
to  Davies  county,  and  in  a  short  time  my  wife  was  taken  ill  with 
the  chills  and  fever,  which  rendered  her  nearly  helpless  for 
about  six  months,  during  which  time  the  terrible  tragedies  of 
persecution  were  enacted  in  Missouri,  My  brother-in-law, 
Daniel  Carter,  and  some  of  his  family  were  sick  and  on  my 
hands  to  provide  for.  Thus  surrounded  by  affliction,  I,  with 
my  brethren,  was  compelled  to  remove  my  sick  family  to  Cald- 
well county.  We  tarried  there  till  the  next  March,  and  were 
then  obliged  to  leave  the  State.  In  addition  to  removing  my 
own  family  I  made  two  or  three  trips  with  my  team  to  assist  in 
removing  the  destitute. 

I  settled  in  Pike  Co.,  Illinois.  The  people  there  were  very 
kind  and  humane.  I  preached  during  the  year  of  my  residence 
in  that  county  about  one  hundred  times  and  baptized  about 


SKETCH  OF  A   WELL-SPENT  LIFE.  69 

thirty  individuals.  I  removed  to  Nauvoo  in  x\pril,  1840,  where 
I  remained  during  the  Summer,  and  in  the  Fall  took  a  mission 
to  the  east,  in  company  with  Daniel  Carter.  We  took  our 
familes  along,  and  by  request  of  Hyrum  Smith  moved  into  his 
large  and  commodious  house  in  Kirtland,  to  which  was  attached 
a  most  beautiful  orchard.  We  then  proceeded  farther  east  on 
our  mission,  as  we  were  authorized  to  visit  the  branches  of  the 
Church,  and  gather  up  means  for  the  Nauvoo  Temple.  I  was 
gone  about  two  years,  when  I  returned  to  Xauvoo. 

In  June,  1844,  the  storm  of  persecution  arose  against  the 
leaders  of  the  Church,  which  terminated  in  the  martyrdom  of 
Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith.  During  this  scene  I  had  the  com- 
mand of  one  of  the  companies  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  and  was 
on  duty  about  three  weeks.  I  saw  Joseph's  and  Hyi-um's 
dead  bodies  and  was  called  upon  to  act  as  one  of  the  guards 
at  the  burial. 

At  the  organization  of  the  Seventies  I  was  appointed  one  of 
the  presidents  over  the  second  quorum,  was  ordained  to  that 
office  under  the  hands  of  Elder  Orson  Pratt.  During  the  Win- 
ter, Spring  and  Summer  I  assisted  in  ordaining  several  hun- 
dred of  the  Seventies  and  organizing  them  into  quorums.  In 
the  Fall  of  1 845  the  mob  spirit  revived  and  after  due  reflection 
and  counsel  the  Church  as  a  body  concluded  to  leave  the  States 
and  seek  a  home  in  the  wilderness.  Every  possible  exertion 
was  then  made  to  hasten  the  completion  of  the  Temple,  that 
the  Saints  might  therein  receive  their  anticipated  blessings  and 
endowments  before  their  departure.  The  Temple  was  finally 
dedicated  and  the  giving  of  endowments  was  commenced.  It 
was  in  this  house  of  God  that  my  wife  Sophia  was  sealed  to  me 
first  and  afterwards  Amanda  M.  Hammond  was  given  me  by 
President  B;  Young. 

After  receiving  our  blessings  in  the  Temple,  myself  and 
family  made  all  preparations  for  our  wilderness  journey,  and 
crossed  the  Mississippi  River  on  the  last  day  of  May,  1846. 
We  had  a  prosperous  journey,  overtook  the  camp  at  Council 
Blufi"s,  crossed  the  Missouri  River  in  July,  and  in  concert  with 
the  spirit  of  the  camp,  made  preparations  for  Winter  Quar- 
ters. 


70  LABORS  IN  TBE  VINEYARD. 

My  wife  Sophia  was  sick  most  of  the  ensuing  Winter,  but 
through  the  mercy  of  God  her  life  was  spared.  Her  disease  was 
the  scurvy  of  which  quite  a  number  died.  At  the  organization 
of  the  camp  I  was  appointed  a  captain  of  fifty  in  Brother 
Kimball's  division,  but  in  consequence  of  sickness  in  my  family 
I  could  not  obtain  the  necessary  outfit  to  go  on  in  the  Spring 
company.  During  the  year  1847  I  labored  very  hard  to  obtain 
the  means  necessary  for  my  expected  trip  to  the  valleys  of 
Utah  and  my  arrangements  were  nearly  completed  to  go  in  the 
Spring  of  '48,  when  a  call  came  for  me  to  go  on  a  mission  to 
England.  I  felt  as  ever  to  respond  to  the  call,  but  the  idea  of 
leaving  my  family,  to  make  their  way  to  Utah  without  my 
company  or  assistance,  was  not  very  pleasant.  My  family, 
however,  chose  to  undertake  the  enterprise  rather  than  to  have 
me  fail  to  fulfill  my  mission.  I  accordingly  turned  my  whole 
attention  to  prepare  everything  in  my  power  as  comfortable 
and  convenient  as  I  could  for  my  family's  expedition  and 
resolved  to  see  them  across  the  Elkhorn  River  myself.  My 
team  consisted  of  a  good,  strong  wagon,  two  yoke  of  first-rate 
oxen  and  a  yoke  of  cows ;  I  got  a  boy  to  drive  the  team. 

We  left  Winter  Quarters  on  the  20th  of  May,  1848,  had  a 
good  journey  to  the  river  and  crossed  over  it  in  safety.  The 
people  who  were  going  to  perform  the  journey  had  been  gather- 
ing there  for  some  time  and  forming  an  encampment,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  the  others  who  were  to  go.  The  two  large  camps 
would  have  covered  some  acres.  One  was  formed  in  a  square 
with  a  hollow  in  the  center,  the  other  in  an  oblong.  Here  the 
camps  were  organized  for  traveling  with  captains  of  hundreds, 
fifties  and  tens,  with  good  instructions  from  Brother  Brigham 
and  others  as  to  their  every-day  duties.  A  number  of  the  Twelve 
and  many  of  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  camp  had  come 
over  to  visit  their  friends  and  see  them  start.  The  business 
having  all  been  accomplished,  the  visitors  and  myself  left  lor 
Nauvoo,  on  the  morning  of  the  third  of  June.  While  we 
were  waiting  for  the  boat  to  take  us  across  the  river  Brother 
Kimball  came  and  took  me  by  the  hand,  blessed  me,  and  pro- 
phesied many  good  things  on  my  head ;  said  I  should  perform 
a  good  mission  and  return  with  much  honor  to  Zion.    He  then 


SKETCH  OF  A   WELL-SPENT  LIFE.  71 

blessed  my  wives  and  said  they  should  both  be  blessed  and 
prospered  in  my  absence  and  that  we  should  all  live  to  meet 
again.     These  predictions  were  fulfilled. 

I  was  from  the  3rd  of  June  to  the  27th  of  July  getting  to 
New  York.  At  St.  Louis  I  met  Joseph  Clemens,  who  was  also 
going  to  England,  and  we  agreed  to  travel  together.  We  took 
the  Highland  Mary  on  the  Ohio  Kiver.  While  on  this  boat  we 
were  attacked  by  a  gang  of  thieves  and  robbers,  who  intended 
to  kill  and  throw  us  into  the  river,  but  through  the  mercy  of 
Grod  they  did  not  kill  us,  though  my  head  was  severely  injured 
by  their  blows.  We  could  get  no  protection  from  the  officers 
of  the  boat,  but  had  to  hire  a  state  room  and  shut  ourselves 
up.     The  boat  was  burned  on  her  return  trip. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ARRIVAL  IN  ENGLAND— APPOINTED  TO  THE  GLASGOW  CON- 
FERENCE—MY EXPERIENCE  THEttE— RELEASED —START 
HOME— A  STORM  AT  SEA — CASE  OF  MIRACULOUS  HEAL- 
ING—ARRIVAL  IN  THE  VALLEY. 

ON  the  21st  of  September  I  arrived  in  England,  and- -was 
appointed  by  Apostle  Orson  Pratt,  who  presided  over  the 
mission,  to  travel  among  all  the  conferences  of  the  mission  with 
authority  to  transact  any  business  with  both  officers  and  mem- 
bers as  the  Holy  Spirit  might  dictate.  In  this  way  I  labored 
about  a  year,  in  wliich  time  I  was  greatly  blessed,  and  always 
endeavored,  by  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  comfort  and  strengthen 
the  Saints  and  to  build  them  up  in  all  the  principles  of  our 
holy  religion. 

About  the  1st  of  July,  1849,  the  presidency  of  the  Glasgow 
conference  was  vacated  and  l^resident  Pratt  appointed  me  to  pre- 
side there.  It  was  the  largest  conference  but  one  in  the  British 
Isles.  After  going  there  I  held  a  number  of  council  meetings, 
and  then  traveled  and  preached  from  one  branch  co  another. 


72  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

I  did  not  meet  with  mucli  violent  opposition  in  my  labors. 
There  was  not,  as  a  general  thing,  so  much  cruelty  manifested 
towards  the  Elders,  as  there  had  been  in  some  parts  of 
America.  I  will  name  one  incident,  however,  which  took  place 
with  me,  while  I  was  preaching  and  building  up  the  Church  in 
my  district.  At  one  time  I  gave  out  a  notice  that  I  would 
preach  in  a  certain  large  town.  The  people  said  I  should  not 
preach  in  that  place  and  if  I  attempted  to  do  so,  they  would 
tar  and  feather  me  and  give  me  a  free  ride  out  of  their  town 
on  a  rail.  I  was  apprised  of  the  threats  they  had  made,  and 
the  bre.hren  begged  me  not  to  go  to  fill  the  appointment;  but 
I  told  them  1  had  never  failed  to  perform  my  duty  in  this 
respect  yet,  and  I  had  faith  that  the  Lord  would  help  me 
through  this  difficulty.  I  therefore  went,  trusting  in  the  Lord, 
and  preached  to  the  people  in  great  plainness.  They  had  all  their 
preparations  made,  and  intended  to  put  their  threats  into  exe- 
cution as  soon  as  the  meeting  closed.  When  I  had  finished 
they  put  out  all  the  lights  but  one,  which,  I  suppose,  they  had 
saved  for  their  own  use.  As  they  began  to  leave  the  house  I 
reached  up  and  extinguished  the  other  hght,  which  left  us  all 
in  the  dark,  so  they  could  not  tell  one  from  another,  and  I 
passed  out  in  the  crowd  and  walked  away  in  peace. 

1  was  released  from  my  mission  in  January,  IS, 50.  By  the 
request  of  President  Pratt  I  left  Liverpool  about  two  weeks 
sooner  than  I  had  intended,  as  he  wished  me  to  sail  on  a  cer- 
tain boat  and  take  charge  of  a  large  box  containing  money  and 
goods  which  were  to  be  sent  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Church 
in  Salt  Lake. 

Having  been  released  to  return  home,  I  set  sail  from  England 
with  a  company  of  Saints  on  the  10th  of  January,  1850.  Jeter 
Clinton  was  appointed  president  of  the  company  and  I  was 
appointed  one  of  his  counselors. 

We  sailed  along  quite  comfortably  until  the  twenty-sixth  of 
the  month  when  a  terrible  storm  arose.  About  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  the  sea  began  to  swell  and  show  its  power,  and 
the  vessel  lay  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.  Water 
came  in  upon  us  on  both  sides  of  our  ship.  We  lost  our  sails 
and  yard-arms,  and  the  chains  in  the  rigging  of  the  ship  broke. 


SKETCH  OF  A   WELL-SPENT  LTFE. 


In  the  evening,  when  everything  looked  most  dismal,  our  pres- 
ident called  together  his  counselors  and  all  joined  in  prayer  to 
the  Lord  to  cause  the  winds  to  cease.  Scarcely  had  the  breth- 
ren ceased  their  supplications  when  there  was  a  calm,  so  sudden 
in  fact  that  the  captain  and  the  officers  of  the  ship  were  greatly 
surprised,  and  they  came  and  inquired  of  us  how  it  was  that 
we  felt  so  happy  and  gay  amid  the  great  danger  through  which 
we  had  just  passed.  They  could  not  realize  that  the  Lord 
removed  a]l  fear  from  the  hearts  of  his  faithful  Saints  when 
they  were  endeavoring  to  do  their  duty. 

On  March  8,  1850,  we  arrived  safely  at  New  Orleans.  We 
felt  truly  thankful  that  the  Lord  had  preserved  us  from  the 
dangers  of  the  deep  and  brought  us  to  the  shores  of 
America. 

From  the  time  of  my  arrival  at  New  Orleans  till  the  1  st  of 
June,  when  I  started  west,  I  spent  my  time  between  that  city 
and  Council  Bluffs,  in  preparing  for  my  journey  across  the 
plains.  I  traveled  with  the  camp  in  Captain  Aaron  Johnson's 
company. 

There  were  a  few  cases  of  cholera  in  the  camp  as  we  journeyed 
along.  I  always  assisted  in  nursing  and  administering  to  the 
sick.  Many  were  healed  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  One  case 
of  miraculous  healing  I  will  mention  :  A  Sister  McGaw  was 
taken  with  cholera  in  its  most  dreadful  form.  I  administered 
to  her  in  the  morning  and  she  seemed  to  be  healed,  but  after  a 
short  time  the  suffering  returned  and  was  worse,  if  possible, 
than  before.  She  said  if  Brother  Burgess  could  lay  hands  on 
her  again  she  would  live,  if  not,  she  must  die.  I  was  at  the 
time  a  mile  behind  the  train,  assisting  some  of  the  brethren 
through  a  bad  place  in  the  road ;  but  the  woman  seemed  so 
sure  of  her  recovery  if  I  could  administer  to  her  again,  that 
they  sent  a  horseman  after  me  in  all  haste,  who  was  to 
take  charge  of  my  team  while  I  was  gone.  I  rode 
to  the  camp  as  fast  as  possible  and  found  her  in  extreme  agony. 
She  was  so  cramped  that  her  head  and  heels  nearly  touched 
each  other.  As  I  entered  her  wagon  I  felt  the  power  of  God 
resting  down  upon  me  mighnly.  I  laid  my  hands  upon 
her  head  "in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ"  and  by  the  authority 
8* 


74  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

of  the  Holy  Priesthood  commanded  the  destroyer  to  leave  her 
and  the  wagon  instantly  and  trouble  her  no  more.  It  did  so 
forthwith,  but  as  it  retreated  I  heard  it  hiss  like  an  adder. 
The  woman  was  healed  from  that  moment  and  went  on  her  way 
rejoicing.  Through  the  mercy  of  God  I  reached  the  valley  in 
safety  and  found  my  family  alive  and  well,  as  Brother  Kimball 
had  predicted  when  he  gave  me  his  parting  blessing  on  the 
banks  of  the  Elkhorn  River. 

After  returning  to  the  valley  I  was  called  upon  to  perform 
various  duties  all  of  which  I  endeavored  to  execute  with  faith- 
fulness and  diligence.  In  the  Fall  of  1862,  I  moved  to  the 
SL»uthern  part  of  Utah,  in  compliance  with  a  request  of  the 
Church  authorities,  to  assist  in  the  settlement  of  that  part  of 
the  country.  I  located  in  Pine  A^alley  where  I  erected  a  saw 
mill,  and  this,  together  with  my  farming  operations,  provided 
me  with  the  necessaries  of  life. 

[It  was  here  that  Brother  Burgess  departed  this  life  on  the 
10th  of  Febmary,  1883,  after  a  long  life  of  usefulness  in  which 
he  ever  sought  to  faithfully  perform  every  duty  placed  upon 
him,  thereby  laying  up  treasures  in  eternity  which  he  can 
henceforth  enj  uy .  ] 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS. 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS. 


BY  A^IASA  POTTER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CALLED  TO  AUSTRALL\— MY  IGNORANCE— PRES.  H.  C.  KIM- 
BALL'S  PROPHECY  CONCERNING  ME — ARRIVE  IN  SYDNEY 
—ADVENTURE  WITH  A  DOG— GO  TO  CAMDEN  WITH  A 
FELLOW-MISSIONARY — SOUGHT  FOR  BY  A  DRUNKEN  MOB 
— GOD  BLINDS  THEIR  EYES  AND  WE  ESCAPE— AT  PICTON 
WE  PREACH  IN  THE  COURT-HOUSE— THE  WRITING  ON 
THE  WALL— OUR  SUCCESS. 

IN  the  Spring  of  1856,  in  the  dsijs  of  my  youth,  I  was  called 
by  the  First  Presidency  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  to  go  on  a  mission  to  Australia,  to  preach 
the  gospel.  I  was  young  and  inexperienced,  and  had  but  very 
little  education,  I  had  been  to  school  but  six  months  in  my 
life,  although  I  had  been  raised  in  the  Church  from  infancy, 
and  had  been  taught  by  my  mother  that  God  had  spoken  from 
the  heavens  in  these  last  days  and  had  sent  a  holy  angel  to 
reveal  the  gospel  that  had  been  lost  from  the  earth.  These 
things  I  understood;  but  the  scriptures  I  never  had  read,  from 
the  fact  that  I  could  not  read.  Under  these  circumstances  I 
went  to  President  Heber  C.  Kimball  and  asked  permission  to 
stay  at  home  one  j^ear,  and  I  would  go  to  school  and  learn  to 
read  and  write,  and  then  I  would  go.  But  he  said  that  he  had 
called  me  to  a  mission  and  he  wanted  me  to  go  now.  I  received 
my  endowments,  and  President  Kimball  blessed  me  and  proph- 
esied many  great  things  which  should  happen  to  me  in  the 
next  three  years  and  a  half;  for  he  said  that  I  would  be  gone 
that  time,  and  should  learn  to  read  and  write  by  my  close  appli- 


Y6  LABORS  IN  THE   VINEYARD. 

cation  and  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  bade  farewell  to  my 
aged  mother  and  started,  in  company  with  some  other  Elders, 
for  Australia. 

We  arrived  in  Carson  Valley,  where  Judge  Drummond  was 
holding  a  court  at  the  time.  President  Orson  Hyde  was  pro- 
bate judge  in  that  valley,  and  had  held  a  court  a  short  time 
before  we  arrived.  He  had  decided  a  case  of  law  between  Col. 
Reese  and  another  in  the  case  of  a  mill.  A.  P.  Chessley,  one 
of  our  missionaries,  filed  a  demurrer  against  Brother  Hyde's 
decision,  and  the  case  was  tried  by  Judge  Drummond.  Col. 
Reese  lost  the  mill.  Brother  Hyde  told  Chessley  that  he  had 
better  not  go  on  his  mission,  if  he  did,  he  should  never  see 
home  again;  for  he  had  sinned,  with  his  eyes  open,  to  get  gain. 
Brother  Hyde  told  us  all  that  if  we  went  with  that  man  we 
should  share  with  him  the  displeasure  of  God. 

We  arrived  at  San  Francisco  and  there  was  a  ship  about  to 
sail  for  Australia.  Half  of  the  Elders  said  that  they  would 
go  on  that  ship  wit^  Chessley,  and  the  remainder  of  us  con- 
cluded to  wait  for  another  vessel.  They  started,  and,  in  about 
thirty  days  afterwards,  a  clipper  bark  was  advertised  to  sail 
and  we  embarked  in  that  ship.  In  thirty-six  da3^s  we  arrived 
at  Sydney,  Australia,  having  sailed  about  10,000  miles  and  had 
a  pleasant  voyage.  The  other  brethren  had  not  been  heard  of. 
One  hundred  and  fifteen  daj's  passed  and  they  arrived  at  Mel- 
bourne. They  had  almost  starved  to  death,  and  had  sold 
nearly  all  of  their  clothing  to  the  natives  for  fruit,  chickens 
and  pigs,  etc.,  to  live  on.  Thus  was  Brother  Hyde's  predic- 
tion to  them  fulfilled. 

I  was  now  in  Sydney,  a  large,  beautiful  city,  containing 
175,000  inhabitants.  I  concluded  that  I  would  travel  through 
the  city  a  day  or  two  and  get  something  of  importance  to  write 
home.  I  was  traveling  my  first  day  on  a  back  street,  and  I 
saw  some  birds  with  fine  plumage,  and  several  monkeys,  per- 
forming on  some  wires  that  were  stretched  in  a  yard  near  a 
mill.  Not  understanding  the  customs  of  that  country,  I  step- 
ped through  the  gate  to  see  the  birds  and  monkeys.  Just  then 
a  man  let  loose  a  large  dog  and  gave  a  whistle.  I  looked 
around  and  saw  the  dog  coming  towards  me  at  full  speed.     I 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  77 

sprang  for  the  gate  and  got  hold  of  it;  at  the  same  time  the 
dog  got  hold  of  my  back,  and  a  struggle  ensued.  I  finally 
extricated  myself  from  the  dog,  but  he  had  torn  my  coat  oif 
and  left  me  only  the  sleeves  and  the  collar.  I  then  concluded 
that  I  had  got  something  to  write  home,  and  I  would  not  travel 
any  further  in  that  city. 

We  found  the  opposition  to  the  gospel  very  great  in  this 
place,  so  I  started,  in  company  with  another  young  Elder,  to 
go  to  the  interior  of  the  island  to  commence  our  labors  preach- 
ing the  gospel.  When  we  came  to  a  city  called  Camden,  forty 
miles  from  Sydney,  we  concluded  to  try  to  get  a  place  to  preach 
in.  We  were  refused  all  public  houses  that  we  asked  for. 
Finally  we  tried  to  get  the  privilege  of  stopping  at  a  public 
house,  or  tavern,  all  night.  We  told  the  landlord  that  we  were 
missionaries  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints,  and  we  were  traveling  without  pui-se  or  scrip,  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  that  Jesus  had  left  on  record  in  the  Bible. 
The  landlord  asked  us  if  we  were  "Mormons."  We  said  that 
we  were  called  that  name  by  the  world.  After  talking  some 
time  with  him  he  ordered  us  out  of  the  house,  and  told  some 
drunken  Irishmen  to  run  us  out  of  the  town  and  he  would  give 
them  a  gallon  of  rum  each.  It  was  now  after  dark,  and  we 
went  down  one  of  the  streets  and  called  at  a  large  boot  and 
shoe  shop.  The  owner  said  that  he  would  keep  us  and  we 
were  having  a  good  discussion  on  the  principles  of  the  gos- 
pel when  a  rough  voice  called  to  the  master  of  the  place, 
and  said, 

"Are  you   going  to  keep  them  d d  Mormons  here  all 

night?" 

We  looked  towards   the    door   and   saw   there   a  mob  of 
drunken  men,  armed  with  native  war  clubs,  spears  and  the 
boomerang.       The  boomerang  is  a  weapon  with  which   the 
natives  formerly  fought. 
I  said  to  my  companion,   "We  must  get  out  of  here." 
He  replied,    "How  shall  we  do  it  without  getting  hurt?" 
I  told  him  that  God  had  not  sent  us  here  to  be  killed  in 
this  manner,  and  if  we  would  now  trust  wholly  in  the  Lord, 
He  would  deliver  us. 


78  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

I  had  no  more  than  said  these  words  when  the  owner  of 
the  house  caught  the  same  spirit  as  the  mob  and  said  to  us, 
"Get  out  of  my  house,  or  I  will  kill  you,"  and,  at  the  same 
time,  struck  at  my  partner  with  a  hammer,  but  missed  him  as 
he  sprang  to  one  side. 

The  mob  said,  "Drive  them  out  and  we  will  use  them  up  in 
a  hurry. ' ' 

I  picked  up  my  carpet-bag  and  umbrella  and  went  to  the 
door  with  a  prayerful  heart  to  God  that  he  would  protect  us, 
and  I  walked  out  between  many  of  them.  It  appeared  that 
they  did  not  see  me  or  they  did  not  notice  me.  The  mob  was 
arranged  on  both  sides  of  the  door,  with  their  weapons  drawn 
ready  to  strike  at  the  first  sight  of  us;  and  as  my  partner 
came  out  the  leader  of  the  band  called  the  attention  of  his 
men  to  give  some  instructions  how  to  deal  with  us,  and  thus 
he  slipped  past  them  unseen.  I  took  him  by  the  arm  and 
we  started  down  the  street.  In  the  darkness  of  the  night 
they  could  not  see  us.  About  this  time  the  owner  of  the 
house  came  to  the  door  and  they  asked  him  where  the  "Mor- 
mons" were.  He  replied  that  they  had  gone  out  just  that 
minute.  They  said  they  knew  better;  "for,"  said  they,  "they 
have  not  passed  us,  and  you  had  better  bring  them  out,  or  we 
will  knock  your  house  down."  At  that  they  broke  into  the 
house  and,  not  finding  us,  they  took  the  master  and  journey- 
men out  and  beat  them  almost  to  death. 

In  this  deliverance  we  see  the  prediction  of  President  Heber 
C.  Kimball  fulfilled ;  for  he  said  that  I  should  be  brought  into 
many  close  places,  and  it  would  seem  that  death  stared  me  in 
the  face;  but,  if  I  would  be  faithful  to  my  miss'on,  the  angels 
of  God  would  deliver  me  in  all  trials,  and  I  should  return  in 
safety  to  the  Church  and  to  my  home.  In  all  of  my  travels 
on  that  island  for  two  years  and  a  half,  I  found  that  when 
there  was  a  good  work  to  be  done  in  a  city,  we  met  with  the 
greatest  opposition;  for  in  this  same  place,  where  we  received 
such  cruel  treatment,  we  afterwards  preached,  and  baptized, 
and  organized  a  branch  of  the  Church  with  many  members. 

We  next  went  to  a  city  called  Picton,  and.  by  this  time,  the 
Lord  had  made  us  bold  to  declare  His  gospel,  lor  such  light 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  79 

had  burst  upon  our  minds  as  we  had  never  thought  of  before; 
and  by  this  time  I  had  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  had 
learned  arithmetic  very  well.  We  applied  for  the  court-house 
and  obtained  it  from  the  judge  of  the  district.  We  appointed 
a  meeting  for  Friday  evening,  and  we  then  put  up  some  cards 
stating  the  time  of  meeting.  At  the  time  appointed  the  people 
assembled  and  filled  the  house.  For  two  days  my  companion 
had  been  marking  passages  in  the  Bible,  and  on  this  occasion 
he  was  intending  to  deliver  a  fine  discourse.  The  meeting  was 
opened  and  he  arose,  took  his  text  and  commenced  with  great 
importance.  He  had  not  spoken  more  than  five  minutes  when 
he  got  to  the  end  of  his  sermon,  for  he  could  not  say  more  than 
"Amen,"  Then  I  was  introduced  to  the  congregation  as  Elder 
Potter,  with  the  remark  that  I  would  continue  the  subject  of 
the  gospel.  I  arose  with  fear  and  trembling;  for  it  was  the 
first  time  in  my  life  that  I  had  stood  in  a  pulpit.  Before  me 
was  a  large  Bible  and  prayer  book.  I  must  say  that  my  mind 
was  confused;  but  I  took  a  text  from  the  Bible  that  lay  open 
before  me.     It  was  from  the  Prophet  Amos: 

"Surely  the  Lord  God  will  do  nothing,  but  He  revealeth  His 
secret  unto  His  servants  the  prophets." 

After  reading  it  I  spoke  a  few  more  words  and  became  dumb 
that  1  could  not  speak.  I  stood  there  without  speaking  about 
two  minutes,  when  the  words  of  President  fleber  C.  Kimball 
came  to  me:  He  said  that  the  time  would  come  when  I  should 
be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  say  to  the  people,  "and,  at  that 
time,"  he  said,  "if  you  will  commence  to  declare  the  divine 
mission  of  Joseph  Smith  in  this  our  day,  and  the  divine 
authenticity  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  the  Lord  will  loosen  your 
tongue  and  j'ou  shall  say  the  very  things  that  are  needful  to  be 
said  to  the  people."  When  this  came  to  my  mind  I  com- 
menced declaring  these  things  to  the  congregation.  I  had 
spoken  but  a  few  minutes,  when  I  thought  I  saw  several  lines 
of  large  letters  printed  on  the  walls  of  the  house,  and  I  com- 
menced to  read  them  and  spoke  about  one  hour.  When  the 
letters  faded  from  my  sight  I  then  stopped  speaking.  I  could 
not  tell  all  that  I  had  said;  but  my  companion  told  me  it  was 
an  excellent  discourse.       When   meeting   was  dismissed  the 


80  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


judge  came  to  us  and  said  if  we  wanted  the  court-house  again 
we  could  have  it;  so  we  gave  notice  that  we  would  preach  at 
that  place  on  Sunday  evening  next.  The  next  day  we  went 
through  the  city  and  talked  with  many  of  the  people,  and 
when  Sunday  evening  came  we  lighted  the  chandeliers  in  the 
house,  went  up  into  the  pulpit  and  sat  and  read  the  scriptures. 
The  time  arrived  for  the  people  to  gather,  but  not  a  soul  came. 
We  waited  half  an  hour,  sung  a  hymn  and  dedicated  the  house 
for  meeting.  We  still  waited;  but,  as  no  one  came,  we  locked 
up  the  house  and  went  to  our  lodgings. 


CHAPTER  II. 


MALIGNED  BY  SECTARIAN  PRIESTS— INVITATION  TO  PREACH 
AT  A  DISTANT  TOWN— MEANS  PROVIDED  BY  A  MYSTE- 
RIOUS PERSONAGE— BRANCH  OF  THE  CHURCH  ORGAN- 
IZED— APPLY  TO  THE  AUTHORITIES  OF  THE  COLONY  FOR, 
AND  RECEIVE,  LICENSE  AND  PROTECTION  AS  MINISTERS 
OF  THE  GOSPEL — ARRESTED — MY  COMPANION'S  DEFENSE 
—HONORABLY  RELEASED— GO  TO  WINDSOR— UNABLE 
TO  OBTAIN  LODGINGS— DIRECTED  BY  A  STRANGER- 
KINDLY  TREATED— AN  ATTEMPT  TO  POISON  ME — MY 
COMPANION  SHOT  AT  BY  A  RUFFIAN. 

THE  morning  after  the  meeting  alluded  to  in  the  last  chap- 
ter we  learned  that  the  priests  and  parsons  of  the  difter- 
ent  denominations  had  met  and  decided  to  unite  in  preventing 
their  people  from  coming  to  hear  us  preach,  for  they  said  that 
we  were  dangerous  men,  and  we  were  of  the  class  of  false 
prophets  of  whom  Jesus  spoke,  who  should  come  in  the  last 
days  to  deceive  the  people.  We  had  labored  a  few  weeks  in 
this  city  and  had  baptized  a  few  into  the  Church,  whe<?  we 
received  a  letter  from  Emue  Plains,  stating  that  the  people 
would  like  to  see  and  hear  a  "Mormon"  Elder.  Emue  Plains 
was  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  from  where  we  were,  and  when 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  81 


we  started  it  had  been  raining  about  a  week,  and  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  country  was  flooded  with  water.  We  had  a  large 
river  to  cross  on  the  way,  and  we  were  informed  that  the  bridge 
had  been  carried  off  and  there  was  a  ferry  established  across 
the  river  which  charged  five  shillings  each  passenger.  We  did 
not  have  any  money  with  which  to  pay  this  charge,  and  my 
companion  was  anxious  to  know  what  we  should  do  for  money 
to  pay  the  ferriage  with.  We  were  then  about  three  miles 
from  the  ferry,  and  were  passing  through  timber.  I  told  him 
that  we  would  go  into  the  woods  and  pray  to  God  to  open  the 
heart  of  some  one  to  give  it  to  us.  We  did  so,  and  we  had 
traveled  but  a  short  distance  through  a  lane  between  two  fields, 
when  we  looked  ahead  of  us  a  little  way  and  saw  an  old  man 
coming  across  the  field.  He  came  into  the  road  ahead  of  us, 
and  as  he  came  to  meet  us  he  had  a  smile  on  his  countenance. 
He  reached  out  his  hand  to  me,  as  if  to  shake  hands,  and  left 
a  crown,  or  five  shilling  piece,  in  my  hand  and  went  to  my  com- 
panion and  did  the  same;  but  spoke  not  a  word.  I  cannot 
describe  the  feeling  that  we  had  when  the  man  took  hold  of 
our  hands;  we  felt  our  hearts  burn  within  us,  and  it  did  not 
seem  that  we  had  power  to  ask  him  his  name  or  where  he  was 
from,  as  we  usually  did  when  a  person  gave  us  any  article  of 
clothing  or  money.  He  was  a  man  about  six  feet  high,  well 
proportioned,  and  wore  a  suit  of  light  gray  clothes  and  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  and  his  hair  and  beard  were  about  eighteen 
inches  long  and  as  white  as  snow.  We  passed  on  and  came  to 
the  ferry,  and  the  money  that  we  had  was  just  enough  to  pay 
our  ferriage. 

We  came  to  Emue  Plains,  labored  and  preached  one  month, 
baptized  twenty-one  persons  and  organized  a  branch  of  the 
Church.  So  you  see  that  our  Heavenly  Father  opened  up  our  way 
to  preach  the  gospel.  We  returned  to  Sidney  and  met  in  council 
with  the  American  Elders.  We  came  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
would  like  to  have  more  influence  with  the  people.  We  went 
before  the  parHament  of  New  South  Wales  colony  and  applied 
to  get  our  names  registered  as  ministers  of  the  gospel,  in  com- 
mon with  ministers  of  other  denominations  in  that  country. 
We  spent  two  days  answering  the  questions  of  the  governor 


LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


and  of  the  members  of  parliament,  and  they  decided  that  the 
doctrine  that  we  taught  was  a  scriptural  doctrine,  and  therefore 
we  should  be  protected  in  our  rights  as  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
They  then  furnished  us  with  blank  books  and  forms  to  sol- 
emnize marriages  and  register  births  and  deaths  in  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Having  procured  our 
licenses  we  were  encouraged  with  the  idea  that  we  could  now 
do  more  good  among  the  people.  By  this  time  a  large  amount 
of  books  had  arrived  from  the  Liverpool  office,  England,  and 
we  started  again  for  the  interior  of  the  country,  taking  with  us 
books  and  tracts. 

Gamberriar  was  a  mining  town  containing  twenty  thousand 
inhabitants.  To  this  place  we  repaired.  VVe  commenced  trav- 
eling through  the  city,  talking  to  the  people  and  selling  our 
books  and  tracts;  but,  to  begin  with,  could  not  get  any  place 
to  preach  in.  Early  one  morning,  before  we  started  out  on  our 
labors  for  the  day,  an  officer  with  six  men  came  with  a  writ  to 
take  us  before  the  judge  of  that  district,  to  answer  to  five  dif- 
ferent complaints.  We  were  charged  with  being  guilty  of  trea- 
son against  the  government,  with  being  horse  thieves,  with  sell- 
ing goods  without  a  license,  with  preaching  a  blasphemous 
doctrine  and  with  trying  to  cause  a  rebellion.  The  court  was 
in  session;  we  were  brought  before  the  judge  and  the  trial  came 
on.  The  charges  were  read  and  we  were  asked,  "Are  you 
guilty,  or  not  guilty?"  We  answered,  "Not  guilty."  The 
words  of  Jesus  came  to  our  minds: 

"But  when  they  deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought  how  or 
what  ye  shall  speak;  for  it  shall  be  given  you  in  that  same  hour 
what  ye  shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit 
of  your  Father  which  speaketh  in  you. ' ' 

Our  accusers  were  two  merchants,  two  lawyers  and  one  doc- 
tor. They  commenced  giving  in  their  evidence  one  by  one,  and 
after  the  judge  had  heard  it  all  he  asked  us  if  we  had  any 
defense  to  make,  or  if  we  wanted  a  lawyer.  We  told  him  we 
did  not  want  a  lawyer,  but  we  had  a  defense  to  make;  and  as 
my  companion  was  my  senior  in  age,  he  arose  to  make  our 
defense  before  the  court.  He  commenced  on  the  treaty  between 
England  and  America.     He  had   spoken  but  a  few  minutes 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS. 


when  the  Holy  Spirit  rested  upon  him  in  such  a  way  as  I  had 
never  seen  before.  His  face  was  very  white  and  he  spoke  with 
great  power  and  authority.  The  judge  looked  amazed.  The 
house  and  yard  were  full  of  men  who  were  all  silent  for  one 
hour.  When  he  was  through  we  presented  our  passports  from 
the  city  of  Washington,  our  recommendation  from  the  First 
Presidency  of  the  Church  and  our  licenses  from  the  parliament 
of  New  South  Wales  colony. 

The  judge  then  arose  and  said, 

"Gentlemen,  my  decision  in  this  case  is  that  j'ou,  the  accus- 
ers, who  have  brought  these  men  before  this  court  under  the 
pretense  of  grave  charges,  have  not  proved  anything  against 
them.  To  the  prisoners  I  say,  you  are  honorably  acquitted. 
You  are  strangers  to  us;  but  I  believe  you  are  gentlemen  of 
honor,  or  our  government  would  not  have  given  you  the  docu- 
ment that  you  bear  with  you.  Go  your  way  in  peace,  and  we 
are  bound  to  protect  you  from  the  ruthless  hands  of  degraded 
men.  I  am  sorry  that  we  have  put  you  to  so  much  trouble; 
but  go  in  peace." 

After  court  adjourned  I  heard  the  people  say  that  if  we  did 
not  leave  the  town  we  would  find  ourselves  in  a  deep  hole  some 
night,  so  we  concluded  to  leave;  but  not  before  we  had  sold 
one  hundred  volumes  of  our  books.  We  left  a  testimony  with 
them  that  they  will  never  forget. 

Leaving  Gamberriar  we  traveled  through  the  gold  mine 
one  week  and  sold  our  books  and  tracts  to  the  miners  and 
preached  to  them  the  gospel,  and  then  came  to  a  city  called 
Windsor  situated  on  the  Penreth  Kiver.  As  we  had  been 
traveling  several  days  in  the  rain,  and  had  been  wet  through 
everyday,  we  were  desirous  of  getting  a  place  to  stay  in  the 
suburbs  of  this  city  and  recruit  ourselves  and  clean  up  before 
commencing  our  labors  in  the  ministry.  We  tried  twelve 
times  to  stay  all  night,  but  were  refused  very  abruptly  each 
time.  We  found  that  a  parson  of  the  church  of  England  had 
gone  before  us,  and  had  warned  the  people  that  the  '  'Mormon' ' 
Elders  were  coming,  and  they  must  shut  their  doors  against 
them.  It  was  now  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  was  raining  very 
hard.     We  walked  up  Main  street  in  this  city,  and  were  so  wet, 


84  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

tired  and  hungry  that  we  could  but  just  walk.  We  had  tra- 
veled twenty- four  miles  that  day  with  but  very  little  food  to  eat, 
and  our  boots  were  worn  out  and  our  feet  scalded  with  the 
water  and  blistered  very  badly.  In  those  circumstances  my 
companion  said  to  me,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 

'•Is  it  possible  that  the  Lord  has  forsaken  us,  and  will  suflfer 
us  to  die  in  the  streets  of  this  city?" 

I  said  to  him,  ''Brother  John  Said,"  for  that  was  his  name, 
"this  is  a  trial  of  our  faith,  and  after  the  bitter  then  comes 
the  sweet. ' ' 

While  we  were  thus  conversing,  Hooked  ahead  some  distance 
and  saw  a  confectioner's  shop  with  the  door  open.  I  said  to 
my  companion  "we  will  try  to  stay  there."  As  we  drew  near 
to  the  place  we  saw  a  man  come  out  of  the  shop  and  walk  into 
the  middle  of  the  street.  He  came  down  the  street  towards  us. 
He  and  I  met  first,  as  I  was  in  advance  of  my  companion,  and  he 
said:  "Good evening,  friends.  I  have  been  waiting  for  you 
sometime.  What  has  made  you  so  late?"  As  I  answered 
his  questions  I  drew  close  to  him,  and  looked  him  in  the 
face  to  see  if  I  could  recognize  him  ;  but  I  could  not. 
He  asked :  "Where  are  you  going  to  stay  to-night." 
I  said:     "We  do  not  know." 

He  then  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  gave  me  some 
money,  and  went  to  my  companion  and  did  the  same ;  and  then 
said  : 

'  'Boys,  do  you  see  that  large  four-story  house  on  the  corner?' ' 
We  replied  that  we  did. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "you  go  there  and  tell  the  landlord  that 
you  have  been  sent  there  to  occupy  the  green  roon»  to-night, 
and  he  will  conduct  you  to  it,  and  give  you  all  the  accomoda- 
tions that  he  can  afibrd." 

After  saying  this  the  stranger  left  us,  and  passed  on  out  of 
our  sight,  in  the  dark.  We  then  proceeded  to  the  house,  and 
found  all  things  as  the  stranger  had  represented.  The  landlord 
conducted  us  to  the  green  room,  it  was  in  the  fourth  story  of 
the  house,  and  while  going  up  the  long  stairs  my  companion 
said  tome,  "Stop;"  I  stopped  and  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  "I 
fear  that  this  is  a  plan  laid  to  destroy  us."     J  told  him  not  to 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  85 

fear,  for  we  had  suffered  enough,  and  the  Lord  was  about  to 
bless  us.  Arriving  at  the  room  we  found  it  a  beautiful  place, 
but  we  were  not  fit  tenants  for  such  a  fine  room,  as  our  clothing 
was  wet  through  and  muddy.  We  found  ever3'thing  as  the 
stranger  who  met  us  in  the  street  had  told  us.  There  was  dry 
clothing  for  us  to  put  on,  and  a  good  bed  to  sleep  in,  and  the 
landlord  sent  us  up  a  warm  supper.  We  then  looked  at  the 
money  that  the  man  gave  us  in  the  street  and  found  it  to  be 
English  money  of  the  denominations  ranging  from  a  crown 
down  to  the  smallest  coin  in  silver,  and  what  seemed  strange  to 
us  was  that  both  of  us  had  the  same  amount  and  pieces  just 
alike ;  the  man  seemed  to  have  a  pocket  nearly  full  of  money, 
and  it  was  dark  when  he  gave  it  to  us.  After  supper  we  went 
to  bed  and  had  a  good  night's  rest  and  pleasant  dreams.  The 
next  morning  we  got  up  and  partook  of  the  hospitalities  of  the 
house  and  asked  the  landlord  our  bill.  He  answered  that 
"there  was  no  charge,"  so  we  went  on  our  way  rejoicing. 

We  spent  a  few  days  in  this  city,  and  preached  and  sold  our 
books  and  had  a  good  time  with  the  people.  1  baptized  one 
man  and  his  family;  the  man  had  been  a  Methodist  preacher, 
and  I  ordained  him  an  Elder,  and  he  commenced  preaching 
the  doctrines  of  the  Latter-day  Saints.  While  traveling  in  this 
city  I  called  at  a  public  house  to  distribute  our  books.  I  found 
two  American  men  there,  and  when  they  heard  me  say  1  was 
an  American,  they  asked  me  if  I  was  a  "Mormon"  preacher.  I 
said,  "Yes,  sir."  "Well,"  said  one  of  them,  "you  must  have 
something  to  drink  with  me  as  you  are  a  fellow-countryman  of 
mine."  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  drink  spirituous  liquors  of 
any  kind,  but  he  insisted  that  I  must  take  some  wine  with  him. 
So  he  went  into  another  room,  as  he  said,  to  get  some  wine  out 
of  the  cellar.  I  was  showing  my  books  to  several  in  the  room 
when  he  returned  with  the  glasses  of  w'ne  and  presented  one 
of  them  to  mo  and  requested  me  to  drink  with  him.  I  could 
see  by  the  man's  countenance  that  he  had  done  something 
wrong,  so  I  told  him  that  I  should  not  drink  the  wine  in  the 
glass  that  he  ofi"ered  me,  but  if  he  would  change  glasses  and 
give  me  the  one  that  he  was  going  to  drink,  1  would  drink  it  if 
he  would  drink  the  one  he  oifered  me.     He  then  flew  into  a 


86  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

rage,  for  he  knew  that  1  had  detected  his  design  to  try  to  poison 
me.  I  had  overheard  him  say,  while  he  was  gone  after,  the 
wine,  that  "the  Mormon  priests  say  that  poison  will  not  hurt 
them,  but  I  will  soon  show  you  that  I  will  make'one~of  them 
ache. ' '  He  also^said  that  he  was  one  of  the  party  that  shot 
Joseph  Smith  at  Carthage  jail.  He  took  one  of  my  books 
and  said  that  I  should  not  have  it  again  if  I  did  not  drink  the  wine 
that  he'gave'me.  I.stepped  to  the  door  and  saw  two  police- 
men passing  and  called  to  them.  They  came  to  my  assistance, 
and  I  told  them  my  story.  They  hunted  for.'the  man,  to  take 
him,  but  he  was  not  to  be  found.  The  next  day  my  companion 
went  to  a  farm  house  a  few  miles^from  the  city  to  distribute 
some  tracts  and  books  and  found  one  of  those  Americans 
there.  When  he  left  the^ house  this  stranger  followed  him 
with  his  Minnie  rifle,  and  remarked  that,  he  had^.a  killing 
contract  to  kill  all  of  the  "Mormon"  Elders  that  he  could  find, 
and  when  he  had  said  those  words  he  drew  his  rifle  to  his  face, 
and  said  "here  goes  for  the^first  one!"  and  fired,  the  bullet 
passing  within  a  few  inches  of  my  comrade's  head.  This  vile 
murderer  was  so  close  to  him  that  he  did  not  take  close  sight  on 
his  gun.  When  he  found  that  he  had  not  hit  him,  he  com- 
menced loading  his  piece  again, ^  but  by  the  time  he  had 
got  his  gun  loaded_my  partner  was  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant.  The  rufiian  gave  chase  and  when  he  came 
within  about  one  hundred  yards  he  took  a  rest  on  a  stump 
and  fired.  But  the  bullet  whistled  near  by  and  missed 
again.     The  assassin  then  gave  up  the  chase  and  went  back. 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  87 


CHAPTER  III. 


A  CITAT  WITH  A  CATHOLIC — CHASED  BY  DOGS — AN  IRISH- 
MAN'S DESIGN  TO  MURDER  ME — REMARKABLE  ESCAPE — 
ADVENTURE  WITH  A  WILD  BULL— "HAS  HE  GOT  YOU?" 
— MY  RELEASE  FROM  MY  MISSION— INCIDENTS  OF  THE 
HOME  JOURNEY— A  PROPHECY  AND  ITS  FULFILLMENT— 
A  VISIT  TO  A  SICK  LADY— CONCLUSION. 

MY  companion  was  called  to  Sidney  on  business,  and  I  being 
left  to  travel  alone  for  a  few  weeks,  started  on  a  tour 
through  the  country  to  sell  our  books.  While  traveling  I  met 
with  an  adventure  at  a  large  tavern  called  the  Halfway  House, 
kept  by  a  Ptoman  Catholic.  This  house  was  situated  half  way 
between  Penrith  and  Bathurst  cities.  When  I  called  at  this 
house  the  landlord  was  away  from  home,  but  his  wife  was  there 
and  I  showed  her  my  books,  some  of  which  she  purchased ;  and 
as  dinner  was  nearly  ready  I  was  invited  to  stay  and  get  dinner. 
While  I  was  having  a  good  discussion  on  the  scriptures,  the 
master  of  the  house  came  home,  and  brought  with  him  a  Cath- 
olic priest.  The  woman  showed  the  priest  the  books  that  she 
had  bought,  and  he  gave  her  a  severe  reprimand  for  taking 
them,  and  then  turned  to  me  and  said  that  I  was  an  infernal 
heretic  and  ought  to  be  burned  at  the  stake  and  killed.  The 
master  of  the  house  partook  of  the  same  murderous  spirit,  and 
remarked  that  he  would  set  his  dogs  on  me  and  tear  me  to 
pieces ;  while  he  was  whipping  his  wife,  I  stepped  out  and 
started.  This  was  in  a  very  heavy  timbered  country,  and  I  did 
not  follow  the  road,  for  I  knew  that  he  would  follow  me,  and  if 
he  found  me  that  he  would  do  something  desperate  if  he  could. 
I  had  been  traveling  about  half  an  hour  when  I  heard  the 
sound  of  the  large  hounds  and  bull  dogs  on  my  track.  A  thou- 
sand thoughts  passed  through  my  mind  in  a  short  time,  and  I 
imagined  that  perhaps  I  should  never  see  my  aged  mother 


88  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

again ;  but  then  tlie  thought  came  to  me  that  President  Heber 
C.  Kimball  had  prophesied  on  my  head  that  1  should  live  to 
fill  my  mission  and  return  again  to  the  bosom  of  the  Church. 
I  then  tried  to  climb  up  a  tree,  but  the  bark  was  so  smooth 
that  I  could  not  climb  it,  and  by  this  time  the  dogs  had  come 
in  sight  and  I  could  hear  a  man's  voice  urging  them  on.  While 
in  this  situation  I  called  on  the  Lord  for  help,  and  my  prayer 
was  heard ;  for  as  the  dogs  came  near  me  a  large  kangaroo 
crossed  my  track  in  full  speed,  and  the  dogs,  seeing  it,  turned 
square  about  and  went  after  the  animal  and  did  not  see  me  at 
all.  I  then  turned  and  went  to  the  road,  but  my  troubles  were 
not  yet  ended.  The  dogs  had  gone  out  of  hearing,  but  the 
man  had  discovered  that  the  dogs  were  after  the  animal  and 
tried  to  call  them  back,  but  could  not ;  so  he  came  into  the 
road  to  hunt  for  me.  I  heard  a  rough  voice  calling  after  me, 
and  I  looked  back  in  the  road  and  saw  an  Irishman  coming  on 
a  run  cariying  a  large  club  in  his  hand.  He  swore  bitterly,  and 
said  as  he  had  caught  me  now  he  would  use  me  up  with  that 
club.  I  could  see  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  spirit  to  kill,  so 
I  walked  up  to  him  and  offered  him  my  hand,  with  the 
remark  that  1  wanted  to  talk  with  him  a  short  time  before  he 
carried  his  threat  into  execution.  I  said,  "Sir,  I  am  an  Amer- 
ican, and  I  have  come  here  thousands  of  miles  to  do  you  and 
others  good,"  and  then,  to  draw  his  attention,  I  told  him  that 
there  were  many  Irish  people  in  America  and  some  of  them 
were  very  wealthy,  and  they  built  our  railroads,  and  made  the 
best  soldiers,  and  more  than  that,  when  the  famine  was  raging 
in  Ireland  the  Americans  sent  several  ship  loads  of  flour  and 
bread  stuff  to  them,  and  did  not  charge  them  one  cent  for 
them.  By  this  time  he  dropped  his  club  and  we  walked  along 
together  until  we  came  on  the  hill  within  sight  of  the  city 
Paramatta.  He  stopped  and  we  talked  a  short  time,  and 
he  confessed  to  me  that  he  intended  when  he  came  up  to  me, 
to  have  killed  me  with  the  club,  but  he  was  glad  now  that  he 
did  not  strike  me  with  it.  He  shook  hands  with  me  and 
started  back  home.  Little  did  he  think  that  it  was  an  over- 
ruling Providence  that  stayed  his  hand  that  he  was  not 
permitted   to   strike   with    the    club.       Here  I  joined  my 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS. 


companion  again  and  we  started  on  a  tour  through  the 
country. 

The  island  of  Australia  abounds  in  many  parts  with  wild 
cattle.  As  we  were  traveling  one  day  through  the  woods  on 
an  old  road  not  much  used,  all  at  once  we  heard  a  thundering 
sound  behind  us,  and  my  partner  who  was  about  one  rod 
behind  me  cried,  "Look  out  for  wild  cattle  I"  There  was  some, 
fallen  timber  near  by,  and  1  ran,  got  up  on  a  tree  top  and  then 
looked  back  to  see  where  my  companion  was.  I  saw  that  he 
was  in  danger  and  I  ran  to  his  assistance,  but  before  I  could 
reach  him  a  wild  bull  had  caught  him  and  thrown  him  on  his 
horns ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  struck  the  ground  than  he  sprang 
to  his  feet  again.  The  bull  came  the  second  time  and  my  com- 
panion caught  him  by  the  horns,  and  was  thrown  again,  this 
time  alighting  in  a  tree  top,  where  the  animal  did  not  attempt 
to  follow  him,  but  turned  around  at  me  as  I  was  belaboring 
him  with  a  club.  When  I  saw  that  he  had  turned  on  me,  T  felt  my 
first  fear  of  being  hurt.  There  was  a  tree  about  three  rods 
distant  from  me,  I  thought  if  I  could  get  to  it  I  could  save 
myself  by  dodging  the  bull,  so  I  started  to  run  to  the  tree,  the 
bull  close  after  me  with  his  head  down,  ready  to  hook  on  the 
first  touch  of  his  horns.  Quite  faint  I  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  tree  and  whirled  myself  around  it.  The  bull  threw  up 
his  head  and  snorted  and  passed  on.  About  this  time  my  com- 
panion rose  up  out  of  the  tree-top,  where  the  bull  had  thrown 
him,  and  called  to  me,  "Has  he  got  3'ou?"  I  answered,  "No, 
sir,  it  takes  a  smarter  bull  than  that  to  catch  me  on  a  fair 
race."  I  then  went  to  see  if  my  partner  was  hurt,  and  found 
that  all  the  bruise  or  hurt  that  he  had  received  was  in  the 
palms  of  his  hands,  caused  by  taking  hold  of  the  bull's  horns 
to  save  himself 

On  the  15th  day  of  July,  1858,  we  received  a  letter  from 
President  Brigham  Young,  stating  that  we  were  all  of  us 
released  from  our  mission  and  called  home  to  help  protect  the 
homes  of  the  Saints.  We  therefore  settled  our  business  in 
Sidney,  made  a  s'lort  visit  to  the  country  branches  of  the 
Church,  appointed  local  Elders  as  presidents  over  them,  bade 
them  all  farewell  and  returned  again  to  Sidney.    In  a  few  days 


90  LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 

we  all  went  on  board  a  fine  ship.  The  names  of  the  American 
Elders  besides  myself  that  were  returning  were,  A.  J.  Stewart, 
(x.  S.  Clark,  S.  R.  Chappin  and  J.  H.  Said.  The  night  before 
the  ship  was  to  start  nearly  all  the  sailors  took  a  boat  and 
deserted,  leaving  the  captain  with  only  four  seamen  on  board. 
When  morning  came  the  captain  went  on  shore  and  succeeded 
in  capturing  and  bringing  back  in  irons  three  of  the  runaways. 
He  then  went  among  the  passengers  to  see  if  he  could  hire 
hands  to  man  the  ship.  I  agreed  to  work  for  him  as  steward 
and  had  the  direction  of  all  the  store  of  provision  on  board. 
This  proved  to  be  a  great  blessing  to  the  Saints  who  were  with 
us,  as  many  of  them  were  sick  on  the  trip  and  I  could  admin-  • 
ister  to  their  wants. 

Previous  to  starting  the  captain  loaded  the  ship  with  eleven 
hundred  tons  of  New  Castle  coal,  and  this  great  weight  caused 
the  ship  to  draw  twenty-four  feet  of  water.  As  our  captain 
was  not  much  acquainted  with  the  South  Pacific  seas,  he  con- 
cluded to  sail  south  of  the  tSociety  Islands. 

The  first  ten  days  of  our  voyage  passed  in  peace  and  safety. 
Nothing  happened  to  us  or  our  good  ship  only  that  some  of  us 
were  very  sea-sick,  but  that  soon  left  us.  We  had  now  traveled 
fifteen  hundred  miles  and  were  passing  the  coast  of  New  Zea- 
land when  a  teriffic  storm  came  upon  us  from  the  north. 
During  the  whole  night  we  drifted  towards  the  land  and  next 
morning  we  could  plainly  see  it.  The  wind  was  blowing  a 
gale  and  the  captain  ordered  the  ship  to  be  tacked  many  times, 
but  it  seemed  that  every  tack  brought  us  nearer  the  shore. 
The  water  could  be  seen  flying  upon  the  rocks  a  distance  of 
many  feet.  The  anchor  was  lowered,  but  it  was  useless  as  the 
ground  could  not  be  reached.  The  next  order  was  to  throw 
overboard  the  loading.  All  hands  therefore  went  to  work  and 
we  had  soon  emptied  a  hundred  tons  of  our  cargo  into  the  sea. 
This  made  the  ship  ride  the  waves  more  safely. 

About  this  time  the  first  mate  asked  us  if  we  would  not  pray 
to  God  that  the  winds  might  be  stayed  or  changed  to  another 
course.  We  told  him  that  we  had  done  our  praying  before 
starting  from  shore  and  now  in  times  of  peril  we  should  watch 
and  work.     We  did,  however,  ask  our  Father  in  heaven  to 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  91 

change  the  winds  and  they  immediately  changed  from  the  north 
to  the  south  and  just  in  time  to  save  our  good  ship  from  strik- 
ing that  terrible  rock  called  the  King's  Head,  which  towers 
four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  By  evening  we  were  out  of 
sight  of  land  and  sailing  along  nicely  towards  our  destina- 
tion. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  day  when  we  struck  the  trade-winds. 
On  that  day  the  captain  ordered  me  to  get  all  on  board  a  fresh 
chicken  dinner,  the  first  cabin  at  eleven,  the  second  at  twelve  and 
^  the  steerage  at  one  o'clock.  I  worked  accordingly  and  while 
carrying  a  large  china  platter  full  of  fresh  chickens  on  my 
head  the  man  at  the  wheel  let  the  ship  swing  into  the  track  of 
the  waves  and  a  large  wave  struck  the  ship  on  the  broad- side, 
broke  in  about  eight  feet  of  the  bulwarks  and  covered  the  deck 
with  about  two  feet  of  water.  1  was  thrown  to  the  deck ; 
platter  was  smashed  and  the  chickens  were  taken  into  the  sea ; 
but  worse  than  all,  I  wa«  dashed  from  side  to  side  and  almost 
drowned  ;  I  came  near  being  washed  oveiboard  into  the  sea, 
the  galley  was  filled  with  water  and  the  fire  was  extinguished, 
so  we  did  not  get  any  fresh  dinner  that  day. 

After  arriving  in  San  Francisco,  the  captain  went  on  shore 
and  was  offered  an  advanced  price  for  his  load;  he  asked 
our  counsel  and  we  told  him  to  retain  his  load  for  one  week  ; 
he  did  !>o  and  then  sold  for  six  thousand  dollars  more  than  he 
had  been  previously  offered.  He  made  us  a  nice  present  in 
cash  which  helped  us  on  our  way  home. 

Brother  Cliappin  was  impressed  to  tell  the  captain  that  his 
ship  never  would  cross  the  ocean  again,  but  would  sink  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  and  that  he  should  barely  escape  with  his 
life.  One  month  later  the  captain  freighted  his  ship  with 
a  valuable  cargo  bound  for  Melbourne,  Australia,  but  in  pass- 
ing out  of  the  heads  at  San  Francisco  without  a  tug-boat  his  J-h'p 
was  driven  on  the  sands  and  in  three  hours  after  was  a  total 
wreck.  Had  it  not  been  that  a  steamer  was  passing  out  of  the 
bay  at  the  time  and  went  to  the  rescue  all  on  board  would 
have  been  lost,  but  as  it  was  they  were  saved.  The  captain 
was  the  owner  of  the  ship  and  as  it  was  not  insured  he  lost  all 
bis  fortune  in  a  few  dreadful  hours ;  he  returned  home  to 


92  LABORS  IN  THE   VINE  YARD. 

Boston,   Mass.,  a  poor  man.     Thus  the  prophecy  of  one  of 
the  servants  of  God  to  him  was  fulfilled. 

Five  of  us  Elders  went  to  Sacramento  and  then  went  to 
other  places  to  get  employment  in  order  to  procure  means  for 
our  journey  home.  I  worked  a  short  time  at  cutting  wood, 
and  while  at  that  business  I  had  the  following  dream :  A 
messenger  came  to  me  and  said,  "You  may  cease  this  labor 
and  work  in  the  ministry.  You  are  wanted  at  one  Mr.  Grreen's 
now."  I  had  bn.en  to  that  man's  place  and  had  preached  to 
him  and  his  familj^  The  daughter  believed  and  wanted  to  be 
baptized,  but  could  not  be  at  that  time. 

The  next  morning  while  I  was  settling  with  the  man  for 
whom  I  had  worked,  a  messenger  came  on  horse-back  with 
the  news  that  this  young  Mi's  Green  was  not  expected  to  live 
an  hour.  She  had  a  putrid  sore  throat  and  had  been  asking 
for  me  all  night.  I  had  a  few  miles  to  go  before  reaching  the 
house  and  on  my  way  I  purchased  a  bottle  of  sweet  oil  and 
went  on  a  hill  in  the  woods  and  there  consecrated  it  for  the 
anointing  of  the  sick.  About  eleven  o'clock  I  arrived  at  the 
house  and  found  it  full  of  strangers,  most  of  whom  were  Irish 
Catholics.  When  it  was  anounced  that  I  had  come  the  young 
lady  aroused  from  her  stupor  which  all  pronounced  as  death. 
She  reached  out  her  hand  to  me  and  in  a  whisper  said,  "Thank 
God  1  have  sf  en  you  before  I  die. "  She  tried  to  speak  fur- 
ther, but  could  not.  I  then  told  all  in  the  house  to  sit 
down.  They  did  so,  and  I  then  knelt  by  the  side  of  the  bed  and 
asked  the  Lord  to  spare  her  a  short  time.  I  then  anointed 
her  with  oil  to  her  burial.  At  this  she  sat  up  in  bed  and  said, 
"Give  me  some  water."  After  drinking  a  little  water  she 
conversed  on  the  gospel  for  half  an  hour,  to  the  amazement  of 
all  in  the  house.  She  said  she  had  hoped  to  live  to  gather 
with  the  Saints,  but  now  she  was  going  home  to  her  God.  I 
had  taught  these  people  the  principle  of  baptism  for  the  dead, 
and  her  last  words  were,  "Remember  me  in  the  day  that  you 
are  baptized  for  the  dead;"  thus  saying  she  sank  down  again 
and  her  noble  spirit  fled  to  the  paradise  of  God. 

The  next  day  I  filled  my  valise  with  books  and  started  for  the 
mines,  stopping  frequently  by  the  way  to  talk  to  the  people. 


THE  LORD'S  BLESSINGS.  93 

I  experienced  much  opposition  from  the  people  and  was  about 
to  return  without  doing  much  good  when  1  was  impressed  to 
go  in  another  direction.  I  came  to  a  small  settlement  where 
I  traveled  a  few  days  and  sold  some  books.  One  family  by 
the  name  of  Millgate  made  me  welcome  at  their  house.  I 
stayed  there  one  week  and  the  last  night  I  stayed  with  them 
I  took  the  family  at  midnight  and  baptized  them  in  a  reservoir 
near  at  hand.  The  time  had  now  arrived  for  us  to  start  home, 
and  having  purchased  a  spring  wagon  and  a  pair  of  horses  three 
of  us  started  for  home.  Three  and  a  half  jears  had  now  past 
since  I  received  my  blessing  under  the  hands  of  President  H. 
C.  Kimball  and  all  that  had  been  predicted  was  fulfilled  when 
I  arrived  home  in  safety. 


RESULTS  OF  DISOBEDIENCE. 


BY  T.    E.    DANIELS. 


HOW  OUR  MISSIONARIES  ARE  SUSPECTED — CHILDREN  LOST — 
SUPPOSED  CASE  OF  KIDNAPPING— MYSELF  AND  COMPAN- 
ION ARE  ACCUSED— THE  DEAD  BODIES  ARE  FOUND- 
DISOBEDIENCE  BRINGS  ITS   OWN   REWARD. 

IN  the  winter  of  1 869-70,  while  I  was  on  a  mission  to  the 
Eastern  States,  the  incidents  which  I  am  about  to  relate 
occurred.  They  will  serve  to  show  the  strong  prejudice  and 
superstitious  dread  with  which  many  people  regard  the  Latter- 
day  Saints,  or,  as  they  are  commonly  called,  "Mormons." 

In  company  with  Brother  Fairbanks,  with  whom  I  was  trav- 
eling, I  visited  some  of  his  relatives  and  stayed  a  while  in  the 
State  of  New  Jersey.  From  here  we  took  a  trip  into  the 
northern  part  of  New  York  State,  where  we  remained  some 
time,  and  then  returned  to  New  Jersey.  During  our  absence 
the  following  incident  occurred : 


94  LABORS  IN  THE  VI NF. YARD. 

Near  what  is  called  Pompton  Plains,  New  Jersey,  a  family, 
consisting  of  parents  and  three  children,  lived  near  the  edge  of 
a  patch  of  timber  land.  One  evening  in  the  latter  part  of 
December^  the  two  elder  children,  aged  respectively  nine  and 
five  years,  went  to  a  hickory  tree  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
house  to  gather  nuts,  contrary  to  the  bidding  of  their  mother, 
who  had  charged  them  strictly  not  to  go.  Before  the  mother 
had  time  to  go  alter  them,  night  came  on,  and,  to  make  matters 
worse,  it  commenced  raining.  She  called  loudly  for  them,  but 
no  answer  was  received  from  the  little  truants.  The  night 
grew  pitchy  dark  and  the  mother's  anxiety  increased.  What 
was  she  to  do?  Her  husband  not  yet  returned  from  his  work, 
no  houses  near  or  help  at  hand  and  she  alone  with  her  young 
babe,  not  daring  to  leave  it  to  go  and  search  the  missing  ones. 
As  she  waited  and  looked  in  vain  for  their  return  her  anxiety 
became  almost  unbearable  and  she  started  out  with  her  child 
in  her  arms,  but  the  rain  drove  her  back.  Soon  afterwards  her 
husband  returned,  and  the  hurried  story  of  his  children's 
absence  needed  no  repeating  to  rouse  him  to  action.  He  started 
immediately  in  search  of  them.  He  went  to  the  hickory  tree, 
but  no  children  were  there.  He  called  aloud,  but  was  answered 
only  by  the  wind  whistling  through  the  trees.  After  satisfying 
himself  that  they  were  not  in  that  vicinity  he  returned  home, 
fondly  hoping  that  the  little  ones  had,  by  this  time,  reached 
there.  But  in  this  he  was  disappointed.  The  wind  had  now 
set  in  pretty  strongly  and  the  air  was  keen  with  frost. 

What  to  do  now  was  the  question,  for  it  was  certain  the  chil- 
dren were  lost,  and,  being  thinly  clad,  if  they  were  not  soon 
found  they  must  certainly  perish.  The  father  ran  to  the  near- 
est neighbors,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  and  gave  the  alarm. 
As  soon  as  possible  a  company  of  fifteen  or  twenty  men  and 
boys  were  collected  to  assist  in  the  search.  But,  by  this  time, 
it  was  nearly  midnight,  and  no  tidings  had  been  heard  of  the 
little  wanderers. 

Their  arrangements  for  searching  were  hurriedly  made.  They 
divided  into  squads  and  went  in  dificrent  directions,  calling 
loudly  as  they  went  and  searching  every  place  where  they  could 
imagine  the  children  would  have  »?r.rayed,  and  thus  the  search 


Hes  ul  ts  of  DLSOBEDIENCJE!.  95 


was  continued  all  night  till  the  men  were  almost  tired  out  and 
frozen.  Morning  dawned  upon  that  desolate  cottage— a  cold 
and  cheerless  morning  to  its  inmates,  for  no  relief  had  yet  come 
to  the  anxious  parents.  Another  call  was  made  upon  the 
people  to  continue  looking  for  them,  and  they  turned  out  and 
scoured  the  country,  but  in  vain,  for  not  a  sign  of  the  missing 
children  could  be  found.  Thus  the  second  night  passed.  As 
the  news  of  the  loss  spread  through  the  district  additional 
interest  and  anxiety  were  awakened,  and  the  sympathetic  neigh- 
bors turned  out  in  force  to  aid  the  bereaved  parents  in  seeking 
the  lost  ones.  As  the  time  passed  the  hope  of  finding  them 
ahve  died  out,  but  the  efibrts  did  not  cease.  About  four  miles 
from  the  house  there  were  large  iron  works  that  employed 
about  three  hundred  men,  and  on  the  third  day  these  workmen 
turned  out  en  masse  and  increased,  by  their  number,  the  force 
engaged  in  the  search.  They  organized  and  examined,  as  they 
thought,  every  foot  of  land  in  the  vicinity,  but  with  the  same 
discouraging  result. 

A  number  of  Spiritualists  resided  in  the  neighborhood,  also 
some  ''fortune-tellers;"  and  they  were  applied  to  to  divine,  if 
possible,  where  the  children  were.  They  pretended  to  do  so, 
but  their  stories  conflicted  fearfully  and  all  conjectures  failed. 
It  was  finally  suggested  that  they  had  been  kidnapped.  A 
couple  of  ""Mormon"  Elders,  it  was  said,  had  been  in  that 
vicinity  and  they  were  suspected  of  having  spirited  them  away 
and  sent  them  to  Salt  Lake.  This  was  only  one  among  a  great 
many  reports  circulated  against  the  Latter-day  Saints,  all  of 
which  gained  ready  credence.  A  reward  of  three  hundred 
dollars  was  offered  for  the  recovery  of  the  children;  and  a  great 
many,  stimulated  by  a  desire  to  gain  the  reward,  spent  dajs  in 
searching  them. 

Thus  matters  went  on  for  about  three  weeks,  towards  the 
last  the  search  being  prosecuted  at  intervals  only;  when  one 
Sunday  two  or  three  neighbors  decided  upon  going  over  the 
ground  once  more,  with  a  faint  hope  of  finding  them.  About 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  house  they  noticed  a  number 
of  crows  flying  around  in  the  air  and  hopping  upon  the  tree 
tups,  a  short  distance  from  them.     Though  they  paid  little 


LABORS  IN  THE  VINEYARD. 


attention  to  the  crows  at  first,  when  they  approached  nearer  to 
them  they  noticed,  by  the  peculiar  actions  of  the  birds,  that 
there  was  some  unusual  attraction  for  them  in  the  viciniU". 
Near  by  was  a  high  ledge  of  rocks,  under  which  they  saw  some 
of  the  crows  fly.  They  made  their  way  under  this  ledge  to 
where  the  crows  seemed  to  be  busy,  when,  to  their  honor,  they 
discovered  the  remains  of  the  missing  little  ones,  but  so  disfig- 
ured as  hardly  to  be  recognizable.  They  had  wandered  there 
to  find  shelter,  and  there  perished  The  elder  of  the  two  had 
manifested  a  noble  disposition  in  the  hour  of  their  extremity, 
for  it  appeared  that  he  had  taken  off  his  little  coat  and  ten- 
derly covered  it  over  his  little  sister  to  protect  her  from  the 
cold.  Much  of  their  flesh  had  been  eaten  oft'  by  the  crows 
when  found,  but  their  remains  were  carefully  taken  to  their 
sorrowful,  heart-broken  parents. 

The  next  day  there  was  a  funeral  at  the  Methodist  church, 
near  by,  attended  by  the  old  and  young  of  the  entire  neighbor- 
hood, assembled  to  see  conveyed  to  their  last  resting-place  the 
bodies  of  the  children  whose  loss  they  all  felt  so  keenly.  No 
language  can  describe  the  feelings  of  those  bereaved  parents. 
Their  sorrow  was  too  deep  for  words  to  express. 

We  visited  the  place  a  short  time  afterwards,  saw  the  cliif 
under  which  the  children  died,  and  learned  how  the  final  recov- 
ery of  their  bodies  had  relieved  us  of  the  imputation  of  hav- 
ing kidnapped  them. 

There  is  a  lesson  which  every  child  may  learn  from  this  sad 
narrative:  the  necessity  of  obedience  to  parents.  In  obedience 
only  is  their  safety.  Though  those  grief  stricken  parents  for- 
gave, in  their  hearts,  the  little  act  of  disobedience  which  rob- 
bed them  of  their  loved  ones,  it  was  none  the  less  true  that  had 
they  been  obedient,  as  they  ought,  to  their  mother,  they  would 
not  thus  have  met  their  fate. 


'♦.• 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 


3  1197  20955  8722 


DATE  DUE